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Urumqi Sights and Landmarks Guide, China

The city of Urumqi is gifted with natural sights, cultural, and historic treasures that the local and foreign tourists can enjoy while touring around the city. In and around the city the tourists can choose where to start their sightseeing adventures.

The Red Hill is considered as one of the city’s landmarks. The hill offers emerald greenery, historical sites, religious shrines, and pagoda. The Red Hill is known for its reddish-brown rocks where it got its name.

The visitors can go to the ruins of the historic and religious sites like Ebo or stone cairn that is worshipped by the tribesmen of the nomadic Oyrat Tribe. Also found in the hill are the remnants of the Temple of the Great Buddha and the Temple of the Jade Emperor from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). These sites were once regularly flocked by Buddhist worshippers and visitors before they were destroyed during the wars. What remained of these temples is the pagoda that still stands at the top of the hill.

The sites are still visited by many tourists wanting to experience the views of the ruins and nature on the hill. Another natural tourist destination in Urumqi is the People’s Park. Also known as “the park for sharing happiness,” this sight can be found at the west bank of the Urumqi River. The park offers a place for jogging or walking along the riverbanks and row boating.

The Heavenly Lake (Tianche Lake) is another famous landscape to visit when in Urumqi. The lake is the best place to witness the views of the snow-crowned peaks of the Bogda Mountain. The lake is located upland at 1,980 meters above sea level and stretches 3,400 meters in length and width of 1,500 meters. The wide lake is open for boat rides and strolls around the lakeshore.

For excursions and horseback riding, the visitors can go to the Southern Pasture at the foot of the Karawuquntag Mountain. The place offers horseback tours with local Kazakhs serving as guides. The visitors can enjoy the sights of the West White Poplar Gully in this place. Waterfalls, snowcapped peaks, wild flowers, and dragon-spruce trees are just some of the beautiful sights that await the visitors of the Southern Pasture.

The archaeological treasures of Urumqi are exhibited at the Xinjiang Regional Museum. Opened in 1953, the museum offers numerous exhibits of the relics and archaeological artifacts that are excavated from the Silk Road. Their artifacts include pottery, silk, terra-cotta figures, scriptures, weapons, and etc. They also have mummies discovered in the desert and accounts of the local ethnic groups.

The sights and attractions of Urumqi make the city known to the tourists of the neighboring provinces and cities. Urumqi is the city to go for sights and leisure trips.