Ürümqi, also Urumchi or Wu-lu-mu-ch'i, city, northwestern China, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is an industrial and cultural center of a petroleum-rich region near the Kazakh border. The city lies in a fertile oasis, about 900 m (about 3000 ft) above sea level, on the arid northern edge of the Tian Shan. Manufactures include iron and steel, cement, agricultural machinery, chemicals, and textiles. Coal and iron-ore deposits are nearby. The population, reflecting a long history on a caravan route from Central Asia, is mostly Uygur (Uighur), with Chinese, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz minorities. Mosques in the city reflect a continuing Islamic influence. Xinjiang University is here.
The city became a Uygur stronghold in the 8th century AD following periods of tenuous Chinese control during the Han (206 BC-AD 220) and Tang (T'ang) (618-907) dynasties. It came under Chinese control again in the 1760s as part of Eastern Turkistan, and in 1884 the city was made the capital of the newly created Sinkiang Province. Known officially by its Chinese name of Dikhua after 1763, it was renamed Ürümqi (a name in popular usage) in 1954 and in 1955 became the capital of the new Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Industrialization, hampered by isolation, accelerated after the discovery (1955) of petroleum deposits at nearby Karamay. Population (1991) 1,110,793.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Urumqi Information info
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