Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar
Completed in 2003, the world's largest grand bazaar; its Islamic-style building complex and 80m observation tower form Urumqi's most striking landmark
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 10:00-22:00
- Ticket
- Free
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
Completed in 2003, the world's largest grand bazaar; its Islamic-style building complex and 80m observation tower form Urumqi's most striking landmark. Inside the bazaar, dried fruits, carpets, jade, and Atlas silk (Etles silk) are sold in separate sections, with the sounds of weighing, trading, and haggling rising all around; you can climb the Silk Road Observation Tower for a bird's-eye view of the old town, and the night market's song-and-dance dining streets are at their liveliest after dark. This is a living specimen of a Western Regions bazaar where 'every day is an opening ceremony'; when buying dried fruit, check the weight, and when buying jade, learn the trade before you spend.
Getting there: Metro Line 1, Erdaoqiao Station
Photos
More in Urumqi
- Erdaoqiao Folk Customs Street
An old Uyghur-inhabited shopping district contiguous with the Grand Bazaar, long known as 'Xinjiang's First Street'
- Hongshan Park
Urumqi's city emblem: the Red Hill Pagoda at the summit, a nine-story dragon-suppressing pagoda built in 1788 under Qing emperor Qianlong; the ochre hill set against green shade forms the famous 'Red Hill Sunset' scene
- Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum
The grand repository of Xinjiang's history and culture: the 3,800-year-old 'Loulan Beauty' mummy and Xiaohe Cemetery artifacts lift the veil on the ancient kingdoms of Lop Nur
- Shaanxi Grand Mosque (Khan Tengri Mosque area)
A mosque funded by Shaanxi and Gansu Hui Muslims in the Qing dynasty and a representative of Chinese palace-style mosques — its upturned-eaved great hall resembles inland temples yet serves as a prayer hall, a testament to multiculturalism taking root in Urumqi
- Xinjiang People's Theater
A Soviet-style theater completed in 1955 whose facade blends Islamic decorative art — a performing-arts landmark of Urumqi
- Heavenly Lake of Tianshan (Fukang)
World Natural Heritage site; legend says the Queen Mother of the West held her 'Jade Pool' banquet here for King Mu of Zhou, and the name 'Jade Pool' has endured for a thousand years