Experience the best of Urumqi

Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang in the far north-west of China, at the foot of the Tian Shan range and among the cities farthest from the sea anywhere in the world. Uyghur, Han, Kazakh, Hui and other communities live here, and its markets, mosques and restaurants show it. The regional museum displays Silk Road finds, including desert mummies thousands of years old.

Hongshan, the red hill in the middle of the city, has a pagoda above the rooftops, and the Erdaoqiao district is the old trading quarter, with spices, carpets, dried fruit and jewellery. Out of town, Heavenly Lake in the Bogda mountains is an alpine lake ringed by spruce forest and Kazakh yurts, and the Nanshan pastures lie in the southern foothills. Turpan, with its vineyards and ruined ancient cities, lies to the south-east.

Lamb skewers over charcoal, hand-pulled laghman noodles, rice pilaf with carrots and mutton, and big plate chicken with potatoes are staples, finished with flatbread from clay ovens and sweet melons and grapes from the oasis towns. The climate is dry and continental, with hot summers and long cold winters, and autumn light is clear over the frosted mountains.