Ürümqi - The Gateway in Motion

Ürümqi is the capital and largest city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It holds the Guinness World Record as the most remote city from any sea (or ocean) on Earth! Yet it’s a buzzing crossroads where East meets West, and North meets South Xinjiang. It’s also a city where ancient bazaars sit beside modern plazas. It’s a growing city, not one frozen in time

Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar

This is the largest Islamic-style market and cultural complex in the world. Opened in June 2003, it spans thousands of square metres and features over 3,000 shops. The large open public squares are flanked by Islamic-inspired architecture with brick-and-mortar detailing.

The centrepiece is the iconic sightseeing tower arranged on 6 floors.

Inside the sight-seeing tower

Views from the top of the tower

The lift door on each floor boasts a different but similarly colourful design

The colourful decorations inside one of the many eateries in the Bazaar

Xinjiang Ancient Ecological Park (新疆古生態園)

The Ecological Park sits inside Liyushan Park (鯉魚山公園), a large natural ecological park in Urumqi.

The amazing ancient Euphrates poplar tree trunks stand in the park like animal sculptures. These gnarled, weathered trunks come from the ancient poplar forests of the Tarim Basin and other parts of Xinjiang

The Euphrates poplar tree (胡楊樹) is known as "desert hero tree" — famous for the saying: "Alive, it lives for a thousand years; dead, it stands for a thousand years; fallen, it remains immortal for a thousand years"

The Wild Horse Ecological Park 野馬生態園

This is also located in Liyushan Park and home to the Akhal-Teke horse breeding base. We were treated to a display of horsemanship

Hongshan Park (紅山公園)

This is a national natural mountain park located right in the city centre of Ürümqi. It’s huge, covering 1005 acres, housing over 30,000 trees across more than 70 species. There’re are also some interesting buildings!

Apart from the well tended gardens, the terrace provides a good view of modern Urumqi.

Hongshan Pagoda (红山塔)

Inside Hongshan Park stands this rather striking pagoda. It was built in 1788 during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. It was painted red in 1988 to match the mountain's red rock and is not accessible for visitors.

Far View Tower (遠眺樓)

This tower is within the Great Buddha Temple (大佛寺) complex.

At the top, the 360-degree observation deck offers panoramic views of modern Urumqi.

  Souvenirs of Urumqi