Ürümqi (Uyghur: ئۈرۈمچی; Uyghur Latin script: Ürümqi; Simplified Chinese: 乌é²?木é½?; Traditional Chinese: çƒ?靿œ¨é½Š; Hanyu Pinyin: WÅ«lÇ”mùqÃ), with a population about 1.6 million, is the capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country.
It is the largest city in the western half of China, and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the remotest city from any sea at a distance of about 1,400 miles (2500 km) from the nearest coastline. The city has an area of 10,989 km².
In Ürümqi a continental steppe climate with hot and dry summers prevails (average temperature July 24°C) as well as damp and cold winters (average temperature January -16°C). The annual average temperature amounts to 5.4°C, the yearly precipitation is about 273 mm.
According to the 2000 census, Ürümqi has 2,081,834 inhabitants with a population density of 174.53 inhabitants/km².
The GDP per capita was ¥17655 (ca. US$2130) in 2003, ranked no. 94 among 659 Chinese cities.
Air: Ürümqi is served by the Urumqi Diwopu International Airport.
Rail:
A railway line connects the city to Kashgar (southwest)
Ürümqi is also on the Beijing-Almaty (Kazakhstan) railway line.
Road: Ürümqi is located along the China National Highway 312 and China National Highway 314.
Chapi