Xinjiang

Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province, whose name means "beautiful pasture" in the Mongolian language of the Dzungar people, is by far the largest city on China's vast Western interior.Since the 1990s Urumqi has developed economically and now serves as a regional transport node and commercial centre. There are two major ethnic groups, the Han Chinese and the Uyghur. Other ethnic groups in Urumqi include Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Mongols and Hui Muslims.

You can see the best of Urumqi by participating our Urumqi city tours, which are more flexible and cheap comparing with packages.

In the middle of Bogda Peak, 110 km (68miles) east of Urumqi, nestles Heavenly Lake. Covering 4.9 square kilometers (1.89 square miles), this crescent-shaped lake deserves its name, Pearl of Heavenly Mountain (Tianshan Mountain). With melted snow as its source, Heavenly Lake enjoys crystal water.

The Jiaohe ruins was built on a large islet (1650 m in length, 300 m wide at its widest point) in the middle of a river which formed natural defenses, which would explain why the city lacked any sort of walls. Instead, steep cliffs on all sides of the river acted as natural walls. The layout of the city had eastern and western residential districts, while the northern district was reserved for Buddhist sites of temples and stupas. Along with this there are notable graveyards and the ruins of a large government office in the southern part of the eastern district.