Urumqi

​Ürümqi is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China in Northwest China. Ürümqi was a major hub on the Silk Road during China's Tang dynasty, and developed its reputation as a leading cultural and commercial center during Qing dynasty in 19th Century.

With an estimated population of 3.5 million in 2015, Ürümqi is the largest city in China's western interior as well as in Central Asia in terms of population. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Ürümqi has earned a place as the most remote city from any sea in the world.

Geography
The largest city in western China, Ürümqi has earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the most remote city from any sea in the world. It is about 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) from the nearest coastline as Ürümqi is the closest major city to the Eurasian pole of inaccessibility, although Karamay and Altay, both in Xinjiang, are closer. The city has an administrative area of 10,989 square kilometres (4,243 sq mi) and has an average elevation of 800 metres (2,600 ft).

Climate
In Ürümqi, a continental semi-arid climate prevails, with very large differences between summer and winter. It has warm summers, with a July daily average of 23.7 °C (74.7 °F), and very cold winters, with a January daily average of −12.6 °C (9.3 °F). The annual average temperature is 6.90 °C (44.4 °F). The city is semi-arid, with its summers slightly wetter than its winters, yet sunny weather is much more likely in the warmer months, and relative humidity is the lowest during summer. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 30 percent in December to 70 percent in August and September, the city receives 2,523 hours of bright sunshine annually. Its annual precipitation is about 290 millimetres (11.4 in). Extremes since 1951 have ranged from −41.5 °C (−43 °F) on 27 February 1951 to 42.1 °C (108 °F) on 1 August 1973.

Demographics
Ürümqi has been a multi-ethnic city from the time of the Qing conquest; in the early years, the Manchus lived in Gongning Cheng, Han Chinese in Dihua, and various other ethnic groups such as the Hui, Uyghurs and others in the suburban districts. The Muslims settled to the south of the walled-city of Dihua, and although the walls have since been demolished, the Muslims are still concentrated there. A census of in 1787 showed that there were 114,348 Hui and Han in the prefectures of Zhenxi (which included Barköl and Hami) and Ürümqi. In Ürümqi city itself, there were 39,000 people in the 1880s, and by the early 20th century, 50,000 people. Ürümqi in 1908 was said to have been inhabited by Uyghurs (then called Turkis), Chinese, Manchus and a few Mongols, with the Uyghurs estimated to comprise a quarter of the population.

In the People's Republic era, an active program to resettle Han population in Xinjiang was initiated. In 1960, there were 76,496 Uyghurs and 477,321 Han Chinese in Ürümqi.

According to the 2000 census, Ürümqi had 2,081,834 inhabitants, with a population density of 174.53 inhabitants/km2 (452.3 inhabitants/sq. mi.).

In the 2010 census, the population was recorded as 3,112,559. Part of the increase is due to boundary changes, for example, Miquan was merged into Midong District and became part of Ürümqi in 2007.

Economy
Ürümqi is a major industrial center within Xinjiang. Ürümqi, together with Karamay and Korla, account for 64.5 percent of the total industrial output of Xinjiang. Ürümqi is also the largest consumer center in the region, recording ¥41.9 billion retail sales of consumer goods in 2008, an increase of 26 percent from 2007. The GDP per capita reached US$6,222 in 2008. According to statistics, Ürümqi ranked 7th in 2008 by the disposable income for urban residents among cities in Western China. Ürümqi has been a central developmental target for the China Western Development project that the Central Government is pursuing.

Transport
Ürümqi is served by the Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport. It is a hub for China Southern Airlines. Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport is the largest airport in Xinjiang.

Ürümqi is Xinjiang's main rail hub with two primary railway stations, the long-standing Ürümqi South Railway Station (formerly the Urumqi Railway Station) and Ürümqi Railway Station opened in July 2016. The Lanzhou-Xinjiang High Speed Railway connects both stations, running from Ürümqi to Lanzhou which has been in operation since the end of 2014.

The city is served by several conventional rail lines. Ürümqi is the western terminus of the Lanzhou–Xinjiang (Lanxin) and Ürümqi–Dzungaria (Wuzhun) Railway, and the eastern terminus of the Northern Xinjiang (Beijiang) and the Second Ürümqi–Jinghe Railway. The Beijiang and the Lanxin Lines form part of the Trans-Eurasian Continental Railway, which runs from Rotterdam through the Alataw Pass on the Kazakhstan border to Ürümqi and on to Lanzhou and Lianyungang.

The Ürümqi Metro is under construction with plans submitted for 7 lines totalling 211.9 kilometres (131.7 miles) in length with an estimated cost of 31.24 billion yuan.

Since 20 March 2014 Line 1 has been under construction and is expected to open in 2019. The line will connect Ürümqi Diwopu Airport through downtown Ürümqi and end at the Southern Long Distance Bus Station with a total length of 26.5 kilometres (16.5 miles) and 21 stations (16 underground, 5 elevated).

The Ürümqi BRT bus service was launched in August 2011 after an investment of 930 million yuan in an effort to improve urban traffic. There are currently four routes operated, BRT1, BRT2, BRT3, and BRT5 mainly along the north-to-south downtown major roads.

Sport
Xinjiang Flying Tigers or Guanghui Flying Tigers is a major basketball team that is part of the Chinese Basketball Association, based in Ürümqi, Xinjiang. Its corporate sponsor is Xinjiang Guanghui Group.

Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard F.C. is a local football team in the China League One.

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