Urumqi (meaning 'Beautiful Pastures' in Mongolian, but today a misnomer) is the capital city of Xinjiang Province of China. It is the political, economic, scientific, technological and communication centre of Xinjiang today, but is also one of the LEAST interesting cities in the region. It has a population of 1.5 million people, and is the most modern and least Muslim city in Xinjiang. It is a relatively new city and did not play any role in the early Silk Road trade, but many tourists today use it as a base or springboard town to explore the Silk Road.

This picture was taken outside our hotel (the Xinjiang Grand Hotel, formerly Holiday Inn)in the centre of Urumqi city. I had woken up early, and took a stroll around the hotel. Dawn has not yet broken, the air was freezingly cold, and the streets were deserted. This pair of elderly gentlemen was also up early, waiting at the bus-stop for their transportation to work, probablty.