Urumqi International Airport is a modern air complex located in one of the remote settlements in the very west of China. Many Russian travelers who have visited these parts compare Urumqi with Magadan. The city is surrounded by endless wastelands.
On approaching it from the porthole you can see the bare peaks of the Hongshan mountain range. In winter, they dazzle the eyes with ice-crushed peaks that break fluffy icy clouds.
Don't believe me? Take a look at the Urumqi airport, photos of which are posted in abundance on the Web. The settlement of Urumqi is located at an altitude of eight hundred meters above sea level. The maximum height of the local rocks is three and a half thousand meters.
Abode of stone and sand
Here, in the realm of mountains and silent silence, stretches the territory of the national park, the hallmark of the Xinjiang Uygur region. However, the Urumqi airport itself cannot be called a crowded place. He greets travelers with polished steel surfaces of information desks and escalators, empty chairs and spacious corridors.
Since the main population of the city is representedseveral nationalities at once, then Urumqi Airport broadcasts its news in all four languages: Uighur, Russian, English and Arabic. A great example of tolerance and concern for citizens.
Urumqi Airport is officially called "Divopu". Here the most important air arteries of the world intersect and join: routes from Europe, the states of Southeast Asia and China in particular. The airport terminal consists of several passenger terminals.
Terminal infrastructure
In the main hall of the complex there are cafes, eateries and an abundance of souvenir shops. Even in the duty-free zone, there is practically no one, day or night.
In those days when there were no direct flights from Moscow to Guangzhou, many transit passengers from Russia chose Urumqi Airport for transfer. Reviews about him, by the way, were very controversial.
Traditionally, you can get from the airport to the city either by taxi or by public transport. Both regularly ply between the air gates of western China and the settlement of Urumqi. The residential area close to the airport pleasantly surprises with its cleanliness and tidiness.
Walking around Urumqi
If you're lucky with the weather, the city meets travelers with couples strolling slowly in parks and on the streets, pensioners and noisy children. If you have more than ten hours at your disposal, then a hotel at Urumqi Airport caneasily exchanged for a vacation in a small hotel located somewhere in the city center.
Even being in the outskirts of the city, in just ten minutes you will find yourself in its very epicenter. Exactly how much it takes the road from the airport. Urumqi is a city, by Chinese standards, quite small, compact and very cozy. Well, for the Russians it is a real metropolis. No joke, more than three million people live in it.
As in the airport, advertising signs are duplicated not only in English, but also in broken Russian and, of course, Arabic. Despite its status as a “millionaire”, the city cannot boast of the dynamic life of a metropolis. Time flows sedately and slowly in it.
Eclecticism of the East
Whether it's local market Yes Bazaar! He is talkative, like an oriental guest, hospitable and cheerful. People come here to chat, exchange news and drink a cup of strong and insanely aromatic coffee. The cloud of spices that envelops the market square makes you stupefy and dizzy out of habit. What is not here! Spices in canvas bags, outlandish dishes, meat and dairy products.
In addition to small private shops, there are several large chain hypermarkets in the city. Their prices are much cheaper. What do hostesses in Urumqi serve? Guests are treated to bright yellow pilaf, spicy lagman, juicy shish kebab and even curdled milk! Many catering establishments are All Inclusive.
At the entrance, visitors are given metal kitchen utensils in which they will have to cook their own lunch or dinner. On the restaurant menua huge number of exotic fruits. Rambutans are especially appreciated in Urumqi.
Public transport
It is unprofitable to travel around the city in your own car. Gasoline is much more expensive there than in Russia. But by taxi - cheap and comfortable. There are almost no traffic jams in Urumqi. The city is literally immersed in various kinds of transport interchanges and overpasses. The minimum number of storeys of highways is two levels.
To taste authentic local cuisine, you need to move away from the main business and tourist areas of the metropolis. Five minutes on foot - and you are in a completely unfamiliar place, full of Uighur flavor. Naturally, the title of queen in local restaurants belongs to her majesty noodles. There are hundreds of ways to prepare it. Local chefs know them all!
Salam alaikum
Urumqi is reminiscent of Central Asia not only in Arabic script, but also in typical adobe buildings, surrounded on all sides by massive fences, the tops of which are crowned with lush greenery of fruit trees. In the distance you can see the blue domes of the minarets, and in the mornings, the inhabitants of the surrounding streets, who snake in different directions from the mosques, are awakened by the mournful songs of the muezzins.
In general, the city is very different from the central part of China. It's all a little different. The mentality of its inhabitants is much closer and more understandable to our Siberians, for whom Urumqi became the center of shuttle trade in the troubled nineties, and now is a reliable and faithful economic partner. It is as easy to hear Russian speech on its prospectuses as intime to walk around the cities of Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan.
