Top Things to See in Urumqi

Overview
Urumqi is an important tourist distribution center and top tourist city in Xinjiang and even in China. As the provincial capital of Xinjiang, Urumqi is a city with modern factors and the unique ethnic culture as well. The Tianshan Mountains are distributed with alpine ice and snow landscape, mountain forest landscape and grassland landscape, which provide Urumqi rich contents for tourists' sightseeing and exploration. Xinjiang International Bazaar, Xinjiang folk street, Erdaoqiao ethnic style street and other scenic spots with rich Xinjiang folk customs are well-known at home and abroad. The ice and snow tour along the Silk Road, the Silk Road clothing festival and other festivals and exhibitions with the cultural characteristics of the silk road have become the unique city card of Urumqi.

Below are the major renowned historical and modern attractions in Urumqi!

Tianchi Lake
Tianchi Lake, known as "yaochi" in ancient times 110km east of Urumqi City. It is a half moon shaped lake on the north side of Bogda peak in Tianshan Mountain and a famous tourist attraction in Xinjiang. With limpid water, the lake shines like a sapphire under the sun and is surrounded by green mountains.

Info
Best Seasons to visit: Spring/Autumn
Recommended Visiting Time: 2 hours
Opening Hours: Peak Season 08:30-20:00 (Apr 1-Nov 31); Off Season 10:00-18:00 (Nov-Mar)
Admission Fee: Peak Season: CNY125 ; Off Season: CNY60
Address: Tianchi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.
How to get there: Tianchi Lake is about 110km away from Urumqi. There are scheduled bus from Urumqi to the lake everyday.

Hongshan Park
Hongshan mountain is named after the Permian purple red sandstone conglomerate, commonly known as "Hongshanzui". Now it is a park for citizens' leisure and entertainment.

 "Hongshan sunset" has always been regarded as one of the most representative landscapes in Urumqi, and it is an indispensable attractions for tourists in Urumqi.

Info
Best Seasons to visit: Spring/Autumn
Recommended Visiting Time: 1-3 hours
Opening Hours: 10:30-19:00
Admission Fee: Free
Address: No.4 Hongshanroad, Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.

Xinjiang Regional Museum
Xinjiang Regional Museum is integrated museum, located in the Urumqi City. It is a beautiful builing decorated by Uygur style, and has more than 5,000 arts and history relics. Built in 1953, it covers an area of 7,800 square meters with over 50,000 items in the collection which vividly illustrate the history, lifestyle, religion and customs of 12 minorities living in Xinjiang. The Loulan Beauty, a 4,000-year old mummy, is among the best preserved and famous collections in the museum.

Info
Best Seasons to visit: All year round
Recommended Visiting Time: 2 hours
Opening Hours: April 15th-October 15th: 10:00—18:00; October 16th-April 14th: 10:30—18:00 (closed on Monday)
Admission Fee: Free
Address: No. 581 Xibei Road, Saybagh District, Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.
How to get there: You can take No.7, 51,52,06,10,12,28 to Museum stop

Southern Pasture
Also known as Poplar Valley, is about 70km away from Urumqi city. This valley is a good place for a half day trip to enjoy stunning natural views of grassland, forests, snow mountains, etc. You can get comfortable accommodation here, and explore the nomadism culture, enjoy delicious yurts, hike on the pasture, or rent a horse to dart on the grassland.

Info
Best Seasons to visit: All year round
Recommended Visiting Time: 3 hours
Opening Hours: All Day
Admission Fee: 20 Yuan
Address: Dabancheng District, Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Tianshan Mountains
The Tian Shan, meaning the Mountain of Heaven or the Heavenly Mountain, is a large system of mountain ranges located in Central Asia. The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Jengish Chokusu, 7439 metres. As one of the Seven Mountain Systems in the world, Tian Shan Mountains stretches through four countries (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan) with a length of 2,500 kilometers (about 1,553 miles) from east to west.

Info
Best Seasons to visit: All year round
Recommended Visiting Time: 1 or 2 Days
Opening Hours: All Day
Admission Fee: CNY 100 peak seasons, CNY 40 off seasons
Address: Tianshan Grand Canyon, Urumqi
How to get there: Take a direct bus from Nanjiao Bus Station in Urumqi City to Tianshan Grand Canyon