Ürümqi

Ürümqi 乌鲁木齐市 • ئۈرۈمچى شەھىرى‎
Prefecture-level city
From top: A panoramic view of Ürümqi's CBD, Red Mountain (Hong Shan), Ürümqi Night Market in the Grand Bazaar, and a view of Tian Shan from Ürümqi
Ürümqi (red) in Xinjiang (orange)
Ürümqi Location of the city centre in Xinjiang
Coordinates: 43°49′30″N 87°36′00″E / 43.82500°N 87.60000°E / 43.82500; 87.60000Coordinates: 43°49′30″N 87°36′00″E / 43.82500°N 87.60000°E / 43.82500; 87.60000
Country	China
Region	Xinjiang
County-level divisions	8
Government
• CPC Committee Secretary	Li Xuejun
• Mayor	Ilham Sabir
Area
• Total	14,577 km2 (5,628 sq mi)
Population (2010 census)
• Total	3,112,559
• Estimate (2015)	3,550,000
• Density	210/km2 (550/sq mi)
Time zone	De jure: China Standard (UTC+8) De facto: both China Standard (UTC+8) and Ürümqi Time (UTC+6)
Postal code	830000
Area code(s)	991
License plate prefixes	新A
GDP (2013)	CNY 240 billion US $38.63 billion
GDP per capita	CNY 68,691 US $11,057
ISO 3166-2	CN-65-01
Website	www.urumqi.gov.cn (Chinese)

Ürümqi
"Ürümqi" in Simplified Chinese (top), Traditional Chinese (middle), and Uighur Arabic (bottom) characters
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	乌鲁木齐
Traditional Chinese	烏魯木齊
Postal	Urumtsi
Literal meaning	"beautiful pasture" (in Oirat)
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wūlǔmùqí Wade–Giles Wu1-lu3-mu4-ch'i2 IPA [úlùmûtɕʰǐ] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping wu1lou5muk6cai4
Dihua
Chinese	迪化
Postal	Tihwa
Literal meaning	"to enlighten"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dǐhuà Wade–Giles Ti3-hua4 IPA [tìxu̯â]
Mongolian name
Mongolian Cyrillic	Өрөмч
Mongolian script	ᠥᠷᠥᠮᠴᠢ
Uyghur name
Uyghur	ئۈرۈمچى‎
Transcriptions Latin Yëziqi Ürümchi Yengi Yeziⱪ Ürümqi SASM/GNC Ürümqi Siril Yëziqi Үрүмчи Uyghur IPA pronounced [ʏrʏmˈtʃi]

Ürümqi (Chinese: 乌鲁木齐; pinyin: Wūlǔmùqí, Uyghur: ئۈرۈمچى‎; from Oirat "beautiful pasture") 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 the population. Ürümqi has seen a huge ecnomical development since the 1990s and currently serves as a regional transport node, a cultural, political and commercial center.

Although Ürümqi is situated near the northern route of the Silk Road, the present city is a relatively young city. It was not called Urumqi until the time of the Dzungar Khanate. An older settlement named Luntai was located nearby, around 10 kilometres (6 miles) from the southern suburb of present-day Ürümqi. Luntai was set up by the Tang government during the 22nd year of Emperor Taizong's reign (648 AD) in the ancient town seat of Urabo as part of the Protectorate General to Pacify the West that controlled Xinjiang. It was a seat of local government, and collected taxes from the caravans along the northern route of the Silk Road. After the Tang retreated from the Western Regions, the region came under the control of the Uyghurs of the Khaganate and Gaochang/Qocho. From Tang to Qing Dynasty, there was little information about the Ürümqi area, and there appeared to be no permanent settlement here during this period. The Mongols referred to the wider area as Bishbalik meaning five cities, referring to the five towns that surrounded the present-day Ürümqi area.