Central Xinjiang

Central Xinjiang

Bounded by deserts and mountain ranges, much of present-day Central Xinjiang would have been completely familiar to Silk Road traders on the Northern Route to Kashgar. Today the largest and most important city in the region is Urumqi, though for travellers the ancient cities around Turpan, the Tianshan mountains, and the Buddha caves of Kuqa are the bigger draws.

Urumqi

PHONE CODE 0991 / Pop 3.1 million

Urumqi’s more than three million urban residents live in a city that sprawls 20km across a fertile plain in the shadow of the Tian Shan mountains. High-rise apartments and tower blocks form a modern skyline that will soon dash any thoughts of spotting wandering camels and ancient caravanserais.

As a fast-growing Central Asian hub (high-speed rail is expected to reach the city by 2015) the city does business with traders from Beijing to Baku and plays host to an exotic mix of people. Cyrillic signs and fragrant corner kebab stands add a Central Asian feel, though in reality over 75% of Urumqi’s inhabitants are Han Chinese.

Urumqi is not a historic city, but the provincial museum is excellent and there are some interesting Uighur districts. If you find yourself hanging around for a Kazakh or Kyrgyz visa, consider a side trip to Turpan or Hami.

Xinjiang Autonomous Region Museum

MUSEUM

(Xinjiang Zizhiqu Bowuguan MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 132 Xibei Lu; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun)FREE

Xinjiang’s massive provincial museum is a must for Silk Road aficionados. The highlight is the locally famous ‘Loulan Beauty’, one of the 3800-year-old desert-mummified bodies of Indo-European ancestry that became symbols of Uighur independence in the 1990s. Other exhibits include some amazing silk and sculpture from Astana and an introduction to all of the province’s minorities. From the Hongshan Intersection, take bus 7 for four stops and ask to get off at the museum (bowuguan).

Erdaoqiao Market

BAZAAR

(Erdaoqiao Shichang MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Jiefang Nanlu)

The Erdaoqiao Market and nearby International Bazaar (Guoji Dabazha) have undergone extensive ‘redevelopment’ in recent years and are now aimed more at Chinese tour groups than Uighur traders. Planted in the bazaar is a replica of the Kalon Minaret from Bukhara in Uzbekistan (though the 12th-century original doesn’t have an elevator inside it). The surrounding streets are worth a stroll for their Uighur markets and snack stalls.

Hongshan Park

PARK

(Hongshan Gongyuan MAP GOOGLE MAP ; admission ¥10; hdawn-dusk)

More of an amusement park, but with good city views, particularly from the 18th-century hilltop pagoda. The main southern entrance is to the north of the Xidaqiao Intersection.

People’s Park

PARK

(Renmin Gongyuan MAP GOOGLE MAP ; admission ¥5; h7.30am-dusk) A green oasis, with north and south entrances.

Sleeping

Maitian International Youth Hostel

HOSTEL$

(Maitian Guoji Qingnian Lushe MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %459 1488; www.xjmaitian.net; 726 Youhao Nanlu; dm ¥45-55, r ¥160; iW)

On the east side of the Parkson Shopping Mall, centrally located Maitian has simple doubles and dorms, some with private bathrooms, and a pleasant common area–bar. The shared bathrooms are pretty grotty, but the rooms do get a regular cleaning. Book ahead in summer. Private rooms are discounted from November to mid-April.

White Birch International Youth Hostel

HOSTEL$

(Baihualin Guoji Qingnian Lushe MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %488 1428; www.yhaxinjiang.com; 186 Nanhu Nanlu; dm ¥40-50, d ¥120; iW)

The English-speaking staff at this hostel are usually friendly and can help organise trips and onward transport. It’s a bit out of the centre but rooms are modern, and there's laundry and a nearby park. Email for bus directions or arrange an airport pickup. From the train station a taxi is around ¥15.

Super 8

(Suba Jiudian MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %559 0666; www.super8.com.cn; 140 Gongyuan Beijie; tw ¥218-228; aW)

Quietly located behind People’s Park, this is the best of the budget chain hotels, representing good value with its ultra-neat rooms, modern bathrooms and free Chinese-style breakfast.

Yema International Business Clubhouse

HOTEL$$$

(Yema Guoji Shangwu Huiguan %768 8888; 158 Kunming Lu; tw incl breakfast ¥598-698; ai)

This elegant and surprisingly stylish modern hotel has an art gallery, wine bar and restaurant, mixing traditional Chinese design with urban chic. It even has its own zoo out the back with rare animals including Przewalski horses (wild horses indigenous to Central Asia). There is a range of rooms, from less expensive Japanese-style doubles to larger rooms in the main tower. The hotel is located north of the city, next to the Kazakhstan Consulate.

Eating & Drinking

Wuyi Night Market

MARKET

(Wuyi Yeshi MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Wuyi Lu)

This animated night market was closed at the time of writing as part of the government's campaign against terrorism. It was well known for its shish kebabs and handmade noodles, so check its status when in town.

Carrefour

SUPERMARKET$

(Jialefu MAP GOOGLE MAP )

The branches of this French supermarket chain, notably in Erdaoqiao Market and near White Birch International Youth Hostel, are good for produce and both have excellent-value cafeterias.

Tianfu Zhengcai

SHANGHAINESE$$

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %773 0076; 17 Lanxiuyuan Xijie; mains ¥15-40; h11am-11pm)

A cosy and friendly neighbourhood place just northwest of the Hongshan Intersection, featuring tasty eastern Chinese dishes. Try the Shanghai-style braised meatballs (hongshao shizi tou;) or tiger-skin peppers with braised eggplant (hupi lazi shaoqiezi;). It’s down a side alley.

May Flower

UIGHUR$$$

(Wuyuehua MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 153 Longquan Jie; meals ¥25-55; h11am-midnight)

Though part of a chain this place is still recommended for delicious Uighur cuisine. Try the specialty, polo (rice pilaf; zhuafan), along with a few sticks of shish kebab and a glass of pomegranate juice, then sit back and enjoy the traditional live music (8pm).

Aroma

A’nuoma Xicanting MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 196 Jianshe Lu; meals ¥40-100; hnoon-midnight)

A Maltese chef who somehow washed up in Urumqi runs this cosy and warm bistro. Pizzas, pastas and risottos are local favourites, or sink your teeth into a tasty steak. Most of the ingredients are either home-grown or homemade. It’s opposite the Laiyuan Hotel.

Fubar

PUB FOOD$$$

(Fuba MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 40 Gongyuan Beijie; beer ¥25-35, mains ¥35-65; h11am-4am; W)

This well-known, long-running expat watering hole recently changed hands. In addition to a good selection of imported beers, and classic pub grub like pizzas and burgers, you'll find some Spanish fare. Young expat teachers and volunteers congregate here, making this a good place to get the skinny on activities around Urumqi.

Fubar is on a street of bars and clubs if you want to make a big night of it.

Shopping

Navigate the Outdoors

OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT

(Changxing Huwai Yongpin Dian MAP GOOGLE MAP ; phone 453-0938; 437 Youhao Nanlu)

Almost directly opposite the China Southern Airlines Hotel, this small shop rents camping gear such as tents (per day ¥15), sleeping bags (per day ¥10) and sleeping pads (per day ¥5).

Information

Bank of China

BANK

(Zhongguo Yinhang GOOGLE MAP ; cnr Jiefang Beilu & Dongfeng Lu; h10am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 11am-3.30pm Sat & Sun)

Can handle most transactions and has an ATM (and at other branches).

China International Travel Service

(CITS; Zhongguo Guoji Luxingshe GOOGLE MAP ; phone 282 1428; www.xinjiangtour.com; 33 Renmin Lu; h10am-7.30pm Mon-Fri)

This office runs standard tours around the province and can supply a driver and English-speaking guide.

China Post

POST OFFICE

(Zhongguo Youzheng GOOGLE MAP ; Hongshan Intersection; h10am-10pm)

The main branch handles all international parcels.

Public Security Bureau

POLICE

(PSB; Gong’anju GOOGLE MAP ; %281 0452, ext 3456; Kelamayi Donglu; h10am-1.30pm & 4-6pm Mon-Fri)

You should be able to renew a visa here but it might take two weeks.

Xinjiang Tianshan Fengqing Travel Agency

TRAVEL AGENCY

(Xinjiang Tianshan Fengqing Luxingshe GOOGLE MAP ; %883-9406; Bogeda Binguan, 253 Guangming Lu)

For trips to Kanas Lake.

Getting There & Away

Air

International flights include Almaty (Kazakhstan), Bishkek and Osh (Kyrgyzstan), Baku (Azerbaijan), Tbilisi (Georgia), Istanbul (Turkey), Islamabad (Pakistan), Moscow (Russia), Dushanbe (Tajikistan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Tehran (Iran). Some of these are seasonal and many are suspended without warning.

You can get to Urumqi from almost anywhere in China. Destinations within Xinjiang include Altay (Aletai), Hotan (Hetian), Kashgar (Kashi), Kuqa (Kuche), Tacheng and Yining. China Southern (Nanfang Hangkong Shoupiaochu GOOGLE MAP ; %95539; http://skypearl.csair.com/cn/; 576 Youhao Nanlu) has the most flights to and around Xinjiang, with a central booking office in the Southern Airlines Pearl International Hotel.

Bus

Two long-distance bus stations in Urumqi serve northern and southern destinations. The main bus station (Nianzigou Changtu Qichezhan GOOGLE MAP ; Heilongjiang Lu) has sleeper buses to the following:

• Bu’erjin ¥178 to ¥188, 12 hours, three daily (11.15am, 8.10pm and 8.40pm)
• Hami ¥150 to ¥160, seven hours, three daily (11am, 1pm and 8pm)
• Yining ¥178 to ¥188, 11 to 12 hours, almost hourly (8.30am to 9pm)

BRT bus 1 runs from the train station to Hongshan, passing Heilongjiang Lu on the way. Bus 44 or 906 pass directly in front of the bus station.

The south bus station (nanjiao keyunzhan) has frequent departures to the following:

• Hotan ¥370 to ¥390, 24 hours, every 30 minutes in the afternoon only (crossing the Taklamakan Desert)
• Kashgar ¥260 to ¥280, 24 hours, every 40 minutes in the afternoon only
• Kuqa ¥145 to ¥220, 12 to 13 hours, every 30 minutes in the afternoon only
• Turpan ¥45, 2½ hours, every 20 minutes

There is also a once-daily bus that travels to Cherchen (¥320 to ¥340, 22 to 24 hours) on the southern Silk Road, departing at 7pm. A seat in a private car to Turpan costs ¥85 and takes around two hours. Bus 51 or 7 will get you to the south bus station from Hongshan Intersection. BRT bus 3 will get you here from the South Lake Square (via People's Sq) .

Train

Urumqi is expected to be connected to China's high-speed rail network by 2015. The following are regular train routes and schedules with hard/soft sleeper ticket prices:

• Beijing ¥575/887, 33 to 41 hours, two daily (10.35am and 5.33pm)
• Dunhuang (via Liuyuan) ¥214/325, 8½ to 10 hours, frequent
• Hami ¥148/223, 5½ to 7½ hours, frequent
• Kashgar ¥343/527 24 to 30 hours, three daily (8.43am, 9.17am and11.51am)
• Kuqa ¥123-214/210-325, 14 to 19 hours, four daily (8.43am, 9.17am, 11.51am and 9.21pm)
• Yining ¥150/233, 10 hours, four daily (two at 8.50pm, 10.20pm and 11.17pm)

Getting Around

The airport is 16km northwest of the centre; a taxi costs about ¥40 to ¥50. An airport bus (¥10) runs straight south through town via Hongshan Intersection to the train station every 30 minutes. In the city centre, an airport shuttle (¥15, free for China Southern passengers) leaves from the Southern Airlines Pearl International Hotel every 30 minutes starting at 7.30am. You’ll need to arrive 10 minutes early to get a seat.

A subway system was under construction at the time of writing and as this is expected to disrupt bus lines for years to come, regard the following as mere guidelines.

The fastest and most useful buses are the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) expresses, which dodge traffic by having their very own bus lanes. BRT 1 runs from the railway station to Hongshan Intersection and then north up Beijing Nanlu. BRT 3 runs from the south bus station to People's Sq and the South Lake Sq. Fares are a flat ¥1. See www.chinabrt.org for a route map. Other useful buses (¥1) include bus 7, which runs up Xinhua Lu from the southern bus station through the Xidaqiao and Hongshan Intersections, and bus 52 from the train station to Hongshan Intersection.

ALL ABOUT XINJIANG

ALL ABOUT XINJIANG

1. Follow the footprints of Marco Polo along the southern Silk Road oasis towns.
2. Overnight in a yurt and marvel at the dramatic mountain scenery of the Karakoram Highway.
3. Explore the ancient ruins, such as Jiaohe, near the laid-back oasis town of Turpan.
4. Haggle for a fat-tailed sheep at the Sunday livestock market at Kashgar.
5. Explore the story of Buddhism and Central Asian silk in Hotan.
6. Pause on the northern Silk Road at Kuqa, for its authentic bazaar and nearby Buddhist ruins.

History

By the end of the 2nd century BC the expanding Han dynasty had pushed its borders west into what is now Xinjiang. Military garrisons protected the fledgling trade routes, as silk flowed out of the empire in return for the strong Ferghana horses needed to fight nomadic incursions from the north. Chinese imperial rule waxed and waned over the centuries, shrinking after the collapse of the Han and reasserting itself during the 7th-century Tang, though central control was tenuous at best. A Uighur kingdom based at Khocho thrived from the 8th century and oversaw the Central Asian people’s transformation from nomads to farmers and from Manichaeans to Buddhists.

It was during Kharakhanid rule in the 10th to 12th centuries that Islam took hold in Xinjiang. In 1219, Yili (Ili), Hotan and Kashgar fell to the Mongols and their various successors controlled the whole of Central Asia until the mid-18th century, when the Manchu army marched into Kashgar.

In 1865 a Kokandi officer named Yaqub Beg seized Kashgaria, proclaimed a short-lived independent Turkestan, and made diplomatic contacts with Britain and Russia. The Manchu army eventually returned and two decades later Kashgaria was formally incorporated into China’s newly created Xinjiang (New Frontier) province. With the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Xinjiang came under the chaotic and violent rule of a succession of Muslim and Chinese warlords over whom the Kuomintang (the Nationalist Party) had very little control. In the 1930s and 1940s there was an attempt in both Kashgar and Ili to establish an independent state of Eastern Turkestan, but both were short-lived.

Since 1949, the Chinese government's main social goal in Xinjiang has been to keep a lid on ethnic separatism, dilute local culture, and flood the region with Han Chinese. Economically, the ‘Develop the West’ campaign has used the region’s oil resources to ramp up the local economy. But this has led to an increase in Han settlers, which has exacerbated ethnic tensions. In a telling statistic, Uighurs once composed 90% of Xinjiang’s population; today they make up less than 50%.

In 2008, street protests and bomb attacks rocked the province, and in 2009, communal violence between Han and Uighur civilians in downtown Urumqi led to around 200 deaths and 1700 injuries, according to Chinese police reports.

2014 was another year wracked by violence. First, a March attack by knife-wielding assailants (blamed on Uighur separatists) at a train station in Kunming, Yunnan province saw 29 killed and 143 injured. The next month, two attackers stabbed people at the Urumqi train station before setting off vest explosives. A few weeks later, a suicide car and bomb attack on a market in Urumqi ended with 31 killed and 90 injured. The Chinese authorities cracked down hard with a campaign against terrorism, which was expected to last until at least summer 2015.

Heightened security in airports, railways and subways was felt across the country. Pictures of passengers waiting in epically long lines to enter the Beijing subway made international news, as did several mass public 'trials' that summer, including one before a 7000-person audience in a stadium in Yining. Hundreds of Uighurs were sentenced to long jail terms, and dozens executed.

More violence came in July in Yarkand but, by then, Xinjiang was under heavy media control and details of what happened are murky. The Chinese government took a week to announce that 96 people had been killed following a knife attack on a police station. Exiled Uighur groups claimed the violence began after government forces suppressed protesters angry over Ramadan restrictions, and that the deaths numbered in the thousands.

Whatever the truth, as long as Uighur resentment is fuelled by what they view as economic marginalisation, cultural restrictions, ethnic discrimination and outright oppression, violence looks likely to continue in the restive province.

Climate

Xinjiang’s climate is one of extremes. Turpan is the hottest spot in the country – up to 47°C in summer (June to August), when the Tarim and Jungar Basins aren’t much cooler. As daunting as the heat may seem, spring (April and May) is not a particularly good time to visit, with frequent sandstorms making travel difficult and dust clouds obscuring the landscape. Winters (November to March) see the mercury plummet below 0°C throughout the province, although March is a good time to catch some festivals. Late May through June and September through October (especially) are the best times to visit.

Language

Uighur, the lingua franca of Xinjiang, is part of the Turkic language family and thus fairly similar to other regional languages, such as Uzbek, Kazakh and Kyrgyz. The one exception is Tajik, which is related to Persian.

The Han Chinese in Xinjiang don’t speak Uighur. Vice versa, many Uighurs can’t, or won’t, speak Mandarin. However, learning Mandarin is now mandatory in Uighur-language schools (but not the other way round), and Mandarin is exclusively used in universities. Nominally this is to provide more economic opportunities to the Uighurs, but resistance to Sinicisation, and its effects on Uighur culture and traditions, is steadfast.

WHICH TIME IS IT?

Making an appointment in Xinjiang is not just a matter of asking what time, but also ‘which time?’ All of China officially runs on Beijing time (Beijing shijian). Xinjiang, several time zones removed from Beijing, however, runs duelling clocks: while the Chinese tend to stick to the official Beijing time, the locals set their clocks to unofficial Xinjiang time (Xinjiang shijian), two hours behind Beijing time. Thus 9am Beijing time is 7am Xinjiang time. Most government-run services, such as banks, post offices, bus stations and airlines, run on Beijing time, generally operating from 10am to 1.30pm and from 4pm to 8pm to cater to the time difference.

Getting There & Away

You can fly between Xinjiang and most Chinese domestic cities, Central Asia and a couple of cities further afield, including Moscow and Tehran.

There are overland border crossings with Pakistan (Khunjerab Pass), Kyrgyzstan (Irkeshtam and Torugart Passes) and Kazakhstan (Korgas, Alashankou, Tacheng and Jimunai). The Qolma Pass to Tajikistan may conceivably open to foreign travel in the coming years. All of these border crossings are by bus, except Alashankou, China’s only rail link to Central Asia.

Heading back into mainland China, the obvious route is the train following the Silk Road through Gansu. More rugged approaches are the mountain roads from Charklik to Qinghai, and Karghilik to Ali (Tibet).

DANGERS & ANNOYANCES

The increased unrest and terrorism that hit in Xinjiang in 2014 had not, at the time of writing, resulted in the type of massive clampdown seen in Tibet after the 2008 riots. But it was by no means business as usual. In addition to paying close attention to your safety in transport stations, crowded public areas and government offices (in particular, police stations), there are a few things to be aware of. As of the summer of 2014, you will need a passport to buy long-distance bus tickets. Some city buses also ban the carrying of cigarette lighters, water and yogurt. There was also a push to ban beards, typically worn by Uigher men, from public transport. Note too that fewer hotels are now authorised to take foreigners, and many hotels no longer have available internet connections. We hadn't heard of any new regional closures, but many popular markets in large cities (such as Urumqi) were closed and were expected to remain closed for at least the entire duration the government's new anti-terrorism campaign, slated to last into summer 2015. In short, expect the adage 'things change' to apply to this region much more than usual.

Getting Around

The railway from Gansu splits near Turpan, with one branch heading west through Urumqi to Yining and Kazakhstan, and the other going southwest to Kashgar and Hotan. In 2015 high-speed rail was slated to link Urumqi (and towns in between) to Lanzhou in Gansu. Distances are large in Xinjiang and buses are often sleepers. On-board entertainment usually includes kung fu film marathons cranked to the hilt. Shared taxis run along many of the bus routes, taking up to half as long again, and costing twice as much as buses. Shared taxis only depart when full.

Flying around the province can save a lot of time and tickets are often discounted by up to 60%. Flights are sometimes cancelled for lack of passengers or due to bad weather.

PRICE INDICATORS

The following price indicators are used in this region:

SLEEPING

$ less than ¥170 (for a room)

$$ ¥170 to ¥280

$$$ more than ¥280

EATING

$ less than ¥20 (for a meal for one)

$$ ¥20 to ¥35

$$$ more than ¥35

XINJIANG : THE BEST TIME FOR VACATION

XINJIANG

Kenapa harus berkunjung kesana?

In this far-flung and restive frontier province, Central Asian culture is very much alive: from the irresistible smell of teahouse kebabs, to the bustle of bazaars and markets, to the sound of the call to prayer from the neighbourhood mosque. Xinjiang is China's Uighur homeland, but for a thousand years it was also a portal and stronghold for Buddhism in the Middle Kingdom. Outside Silk Road oasis towns the legacy of this remains in stunning cave art, and the ruins of ancient cities and monasteries. The awesomeness of Xinjiang's environment is an equal draw for travellers, from the scorching sands of the Taklamakan Desert to the cool forests and lakes of the Tian Shan (Heavenly Mountains). In short, a journey to Chinese Turkestan rewards as an exploration of China's past, its unsettled multicultural present, or simply as an adventure into one of the most sublime landscapes on earth.

KAPAN WAKTU TERBAIK BERKUNJUNG?

• Mar Nauryz (New Year) festivals held in Kazakh and Kyrgyz villages.
• Aug Celebrate the grape-harvest festival in Turpan.
• Sep Autumnal colours at Kanas Lake and Hemu.

PASAR TERBAIK?

• Sunday market, Hotan
• Livestock market, Kashgar
• Sunday bazaar, Kuqa
• Sunday market, Yarkand

JALUR TERBAIK?

• Shipton’s Arch
• Horse trek to Hemu in Kanas Lake Nature Reserve
• Hiking around Muztagh Ata
•  Bezeklik Caves