Ürümqi
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| Abbreviation(s): 乌市 (pinyin: Wū Shì) | |
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| Origin of name | "Beautiful Pasture" in Dzungar Mongol |
| Administration type | Prefecture-level city |
| Seat of Government | Tianshan District |
| County-level divisions | 8 |
| CPC Ürümqi Committee Secretary | Yang Gang |
| Mayor | Shokrat Zakir |
| Area | 10,989 km² |
| Population (2002) - Density |
2,081,834 174.53/km² |
| GDP (?) - per capita |
CNY CNY |
| Area code | 991 |
| Postal code | 830000 |
| Licence plate prefix | 新A |
| ISO 3166-2 | CN-65-01 |
| Official website: http://www.urumqi.gov.cn (Simplified Chinese) |
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Urumchi or Ürümqi (English IPA: [uːˈruːmtʃi]; Uyghur: ئۈرۈمچی; Uyghur Latin script: Ürümqi; Simplified Chinese: 乌鲁木齐; Traditional Chinese: 烏魯木齊; pinyin: Wūlǔmùqí), with a population of about 2.1 million, is the capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country.
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[edit] History of naming
During the Qing Dynasty (A.D.1763) the Qianlong named the expanded town of Luntai "Dihua" （pinyin: Díhuà; Manchu: Wen de dahabure fu）, meaning "to enlighten." On February 1, 1954, the city was renamed to Ürümqi, which means "Beautiful Pasture".
[edit] Geography
Located in a green oasis between the lofty ice-capped Bogda Peak, the vast Salt Lake in the east, the rolling pine-covered Southern hill and the alternating fields and sand dunes of Zunggar Basin in the northwest, Ürümqi has an average elevation of 800 meters. The largest city in the western half of China, Ürümqi has won a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the most remote city from any sea in the world at a distance of about 1,400 miles (2500 km) from the nearest coastline (Ürümqi being the city closest to the Eurasian Pole of Inaccessibility). The city has an area of 10,989 km².
[edit] Climate
In Ürümqi a continental steppe climate with hot and dry summers prevails (average temperature July 24°C) as well as damp and cold winters (average temperature January -16°C). The annual average temperature amounts to 5.4°C, the yearly precipitation is about 273 mm.
[edit] Demographics
According to the 2000 census, Ürümqi has 2,081,834 inhabitants with a population density of 174.53 inhabitants/km².
[edit] Administrative divisions
Urumqi currently comprises 8 administrative sub-divisions, county-level units, of these, 7 are districts and 1 is a county.
The areas of the city are divided into 7 districts and 1 county:
- Tianshan District (天山区: Tiānshān Qū)
- Saybagh District (沙依巴克区: Shāyībākè Qū)
- Toutunhe District (头屯河区: Tóutúnhé Qū)
- Shuimogou District (水磨沟区: Shuǐmógōu Qū)
- Xinshi District (新市区: Xīnshì Qū)
- Dongshan District (东山区: Dōngshān Qū)
- Dabancheng District (达坂城区: Dábǎnchéng Qū)
- Ürümqi County (乌鲁木齐县: Wūlǔmùqí Xiàn)
[edit] Economy
Urumqi is a major industrial center within Xinjiang. Urumqi, together with Karamay and Bayin'gholin account for 64.5% of the total industrial output of Xinjiang. Urumqi is also the largest consumer center in the region, recording ¥19.1 billion retail sales of consumer goods in 2004, accounting for 33.9% of the region's total retail value. The GDP per capita was ¥22,820 (ca. US$2,850) in 2004 [1]. Urumqi has been a central developmental target for the "Develop the West" project that the Central Government is pursuing.
[edit] Media
The Xinjiang Networking Transmission Limited operates the Urumqi People Broadcasting Station and the Xinjiang People Broadcasting Station, broadcasting in the Mandarin, Uygur, Kazakh, Mongolian, and the Tan Oak languages.
[edit] Transportation
Air: Ürümqi is served by the Urumqi Diwopu International Airport.
Rail:
- A railway line connects the city to Kashgar (southwest)
- Ürümqi is also on the Beijing-Almaty (Kazakhstan) railway line.
Road: Ürümqi is located along the China National Highway 312 and China National Highway 314.
[edit] Drugs and HIV/AIDS
With a population of about 20 million and an officially estimated 60,000 infections, Xinjiang has one-tenth of China’s AIDS cases and the highest HIV infection rate in the country. Chinese authorities estimate that Kashgar Prefecture, with a population of about three million, has 780 cases, but public health experts here say the real figure is probably four times that and rising fast.
Until recently, addicts were largely left to the police, who regarded them as simple criminals whose drug use was to be combated mercilessly. Resistance to treating drug addiction as a public health concern has been high, mirroring what some international health experts say was a slow response to the virus generally in China as AIDS first gained a foothold.
[edit] See also
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Prefecture-level divisions of Xinjiang
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