Ürümqi
People's Republic of China · Asia
About Ürümqi
Ürümqi is the capital and largest city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China. With a census population of 4,054,000 in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an. Ürümqi has seen significant economic development since the 1990s and currently serves as a regional transport hub and a cultural, political, and commercial center.
According to Herold J Wiens, the name "Ürümqi" comes from the Oirat words ürü and mchi, together meaning "beautiful pasture".
Japanese Turkologist Dai Matsui proposes that the name "Ürümqi" may have originated from the Old Uyghur word yürüng ('white', 'bright'), combined with the Chinese element chin. Matsui notes that during the Tang dynasty, there was a garrison called Baishuizhen along the route from Turpan toward the area of present-day Ürümqi. In this context, the Chinese bai ('white') could correspond to the Uyghur yürüng with the same meaning, while zhen was rendered as chin. Thus, an Old Uyghur toponym "Yürüng-chin" could have developed, which over time evolved into the modern form...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.