URUMCHI

WadeGiles romanization Wu-lu-mu-ch'i, Pinyin rmqi, city in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, northwestern China. Urumchi (Mongolian: Fine Pasture) is the capital of the autonomous region. Situated in a fertile belt of oases along the northern face of the T'ien Shan (mountains), the city commands the northern end of a gap leading from the Tarim Basin into the Dzungarian Basin. It first came under Chinese control in the 7th and 8th centuries, when the Chinese established the protectorate general of Pei-t'ing some 80 miles (130 km) to the east. A hsien (county) named Lun-t'ai was then founded at Urumchi, which became an important centre for caravans traveling into the I-li River valley from the main route across Turkistan. After the withdrawal of the T'ang dynasty (618907) from the area in the 750s, Urumchi came under the control of the Uighurs. It again came under Chinese rule during the campaigns of the Ch'ing dynasty against the Dzungars in the 18th century. In 1760 military colonies were established in the surrounding oases, and in 1763 a Chinese city called Ti-hua was founded there. The city became an important Manchu garrison for northwestern China. When the Muslim Rebellion broke out in Sinkiang in the 1860s, Urumchi was taken by the rebels in 1864 but was eventually recaptured in 1876 by Ch'ing forces under Tso Tsung-t'ang. When the province of Sinkiang was set up in 1884, Urumchi became its capital. It grew rapidly into the greatest city and centre of trade in Central Asia. Its commercial importance was matched, in the last days of the empire, by its growing strategic and international significance, as the British and Russians each attempted to establish influence in Sinkiang. Since 1949 Urumchi has been developed not only as the regional capital and cultural centre of Sinkiang but also as a major industrial base. A railway links Urumchi to the Chinese rail network and was completed in the early 1960s. A highway was built following the same route, and other highways have been built across the Dzungarian and Tarim basins, greatly improving Urumchi's communications. Efforts have been made to extend the irrigated farmlands in the vicinity, along the foot of the T'ien Shan, and to improve the region's agricultural productivity by mechanization. Urumchi's new prosperity, however, comes from its mineral resources. In 1955 a large petroleum field was discovered at K'o-la-ma-i (Karamai) to the north in the Dzungarian Basin; it was brought into production in 195859 and has since become one of China's major sources of oil. Extensive coal deposits were found along the foot of the T'ien Shan, and there are major mining centres near Urumchi and at Liu-tao-wan. A large thermal-power station, ironworks and steelworks, an engineering industry (producing agricultural machinery), a cement works, chemical and fertilizer plants, an oil refinery, and cotton-textile mills have been built. Urumchi remains a Uighur city, with Uighur as its chief language; most Uighurs are Muslim. There are Kazak, Dungan, and Manchu minorities. Much effort has been devoted to building a Uighur cultural base. There are many schools and institutes of higher education, including a university, colleges for minorities, and institutions for studying the Russian language, medicine, and agricultural science. Pop. (1993 est.) 1,130,000.