by Jonathan Campbell

Created on: May 25, 2007

Beauty of Urumchi
Considering the great importance of history and tradition in Islam, it's no surprise that inspecting the history and culture of its greatest cities awards a deep and interesting prize. One is likely to find great cultural, religious and social achievements, traditions and rituals. Cities such as Damascus (Syria), Baghdad (Iraq) and Constantinople/Istanbul (Turkey), famous for their architecture, landmarks and customs, are obvious choices when considering prosperous Muslim cities to study. However those selections alone are limiting, not allowing one to expand his or her knowledge of the world itself let alone the vast religion of Islam. There are millions of other cities around the globe, a large percentage of which are also considered Muslim; one lesser-known example is Urumchi, China. It's location and history makes it an interesting choice for anyone curious about Muslim cities.

Located in northwestern China, Urumchi is the capital city of the Xingjiang autonomous region. This particular region is also known as East Turkistan and resides in the center of Asia, bordering Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan to the west, Russia and Mongolia to the east, Tibet on the south, and Pakistan and India to the southwest. The city of Urumchi itself is considered the furthest major city from the ocean, sitting landlocked about 2250 kilometers from the nearest major sea. Because of this remoteness the climate is rather arid and in the summer quite hot, with the typical harsh winters of the region. The city sits in a grassy location ("Urumchi" meaning beautiful pasture) between many prominent geographical features, such as the ice-capped mountains of the Tien Shan chain, a large salt lake, rolling pine tree forests and sandy basin dunes. It is an important locale for caravans heading to Turkistan, as well as being one of the last stops on the famed Silk Road. The city is located on prime coal mining and petroleum producing land, with its major exports including iron and steel.
The city of Urumchi was not under Chinese rule until the 7th and 8th centuries, however it had been under the influence of China as early as 122 B.C. with the rule of emperor Wu Ti. Wu Ti of the Han dynasty was responsible for conquering East Xinjiang the province in which Urumchi now lies. It played an important role as a stop on the famed trade route the "Silk Road", as one of the last cities and was even an important military fort of the Han dynasty. Urumchi was once

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