Xinjiang, 1,470km (911 miles) NE of Kashgar, 692km (429 miles) E of Yining
Early visitors gave mixed reviews. Missionary Mildred Cable thought the town "has no beauty, no style, no dignity and no architectural interest. The climate is violent, exaggerated and at no season pleasant . . . ." However, acerbic American author Owen Lattimore loved Urumqi "in the spring, when along the liquescent streets the Chinese began to appear in gay colors and flowered silks and satins, and the Turkis, abandoning the reds and purples of their long winter gowns, to put on the white cotton robes of warm weather; and in the beginning of summer, when the early leafage of trees was not yet dulled with dust, and to walk on the city walls at sunset was the crowning glory of the day."
Opinions on the town are still divided, but everyone agrees that Urumqi is best avoided in winter. Ringed by factories and relying on coal heating, the town sees its first snow coated by a film of soot within hours. For those who fly in from the east, it provides a tantalizing first taste of a different culture, and there are fascinating markets to explore.