Located at the foot of the snow-capped Tianshan Mountain Range, Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest of China and a key stop on the ancient Chinese Silk Road.

　　The name Urumqi appeared as early as 925 A.D. and it means“the beautiful ranch”in Mongolian.

　　Urumqi has a long history and human beings have been living here in the Neolithic period. Today, this ancient city has become a modern metropolitan in west China. The Red Hill in the downtown area is its city symbol.

　　Urumqi has four distinctive seasons, with the hottest time being July and August while coldest time is January. A feature of the climate is the great difference in temperature between daytime and night. A coat or sweater is needed during night even in the sweltering hot summer. The best time to travel the region is from May to October.