Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is a city of 1.6m people in northwestern China, 3800 km west of Beijing. While it has its share of faceless high-rise apartments, Urumqi is a colorful town with considerable diversity and strong echoes of the Central Asian influences that have shaped the history and culture of Xinjiang. The most recent developments in Urumqi reflect the resources-led economic boom that points the way to the province's future.

The colorful Erdaoqiao Market is (deservedly) a tourist magnet, but Urumqi's best attractions lie outside the city. Foremost among them is Heavenly Lake (Tian Chi), its azure waters reflecting the snowcapped majesty of the Tian Shan range. When's the best time to visit Urumqi? Easy! Any time but winter, when you're lucky if the mercury soars to -8C (18F) in the middle of the day.

Xinjiang cuisine, while not highly refined, is much loved around China for its juicy kebabs and hearty concoctions of lamb with rice or noodles - all reminders that Urumqi is the same distance from Istanbul as it is from Beijing! Evening entertainment options in Urumqi are many and varied, from quiet bars to throbbing Central Asian cabarets to western-style dance clubs.