Ürümqi
Ürümqi (/ʊˈrʊmtʃi/ ⓘ uu-RUUM-chee; also spelled Urumqi or Urumchi), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China.
Ürümqi
Urumqi, Urumchi, Dihua, Tihwa | |
|---|---|
From top to bottom, left to right: A panoramic view of Ürümqi's central business district, Ürümqi Night Market in the Grand Bazaar, Red Mountain (Hong Shan), and a view of Tian Shan from Ürümqi | |
Ürümqi City jurisdiction (red) in Xinjiang (orange) | |
Ürümqi Location of the city center in Xinjiang | |
| Coordinates (Ürümqi municipal government): 43°49′21″N 87°36′45″E | |
| Country | China |
| Autonomous region | Xinjiang |
| County-level divisions | 8 |
| Municipal seat | Shuimogou District |
| Government | |
| • Type | Prefecture-level city |
| • Body | Ürümqi Municipal People's Congress |
| • CCP Secretary | He Zhongyou |
| • Congress Chairman | Ahmetjan Ahniyaz |
| • Mayor | Yahefu Paidula |
| • CPPCC Chairman | Yun Shuxia |
| Area | |
| • Prefecture-level city | 14,577 km2 (5,628 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 583 km2 (225 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 860 m (2,820 ft) |
| Population (2020 census) | |
| • Prefecture-level city | 4,054,000 |
| • Estimate (2020) | 4,054,000 |
| • Density | 280/km2 (720/sq mi) |
| Demographics | |
| • Major ethnic groups |
|
| Time zone | De jure: China Standard (UTC+08:00) De facto: Both China Standard (UTC+08:00) and Ürümqi Time (UTC+06:00) |
| Postal code | 830000 |
| Area code | 991 |
| ISO 3166 code | CN-XJ-01 |
| GDP | 2022 |
| – Total | ¥389.3 billion $57.9 billion (nominal) |
| – Per capita | ¥95,511 $14,200 (nominal) |
| – Growth | 0.3% |
| License plate prefixes | 新A |
| Website | www.urumqi.gov.cn (in Chinese) |
| Ürümqi | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Ürümqi" in Simplified Chinese (top), Traditional Chinese (middle) and Uyghur Arabic (bottom) scripts | |||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 乌鲁木齐 | ||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 烏魯木齊 | ||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Wūlǔmùqí | ||||||||||||||
| Postal | Urumtsi | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | (from Oirat) "beautiful pasture" | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Abbreviation | |||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 乌市 | ||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 烏市 | ||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Wūshì | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Former name | |||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 迪化 | ||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Díhuà | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | to enlighten and civilize | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Mongolian name | |||||||||||||||
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Өрөмч | ||||||||||||||
| Mongolian script | ᠥᠷᠥᠮᠴᠢ | ||||||||||||||
| Uyghur name | |||||||||||||||
| Uyghur | ئۈرۈمچى | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Kazakh name | |||||||||||||||
| Kazakh | ٷرىمجى Ürimji Үрімжі | ||||||||||||||
With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an as well as the largest in Central Asia in terms of population. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Ürümqi is the most remote city from any sea in the world. Ürümqi has seen significant economic development since the 1990s and currently serves as a regional transport node and a cultural, political and commercial center.
Ürümqi is one of the top 500 cities in the world by scientific research output, as tracked by the Nature Index. The city is also home to Xinjiang University, a comprehensive university with the highest academic level in Xinjiang, under the Project 211 and the Double First Class University Plan.