Urumqi

Crossing from Kazakhstan into China you pass wonderful countryside but pretty much no people. Some yurts where a few people live, some camels grazing in front of the snow mountains in the back. So what to expect from the first city in China, Urumqi? Yes, some more yurts and some more people. Wrong, big time! Urumqi is a massive city (over 3 Million people) with high risers, modern shopping malls etc - big surprise. Besides this it's a very different China to the coastal areas. Being over 2000km from Beijing other influences are very strong. The Uighur minority who lifes in this area is much closer to Kazakhstan in terms of food (Laghman etc) and language. Interestingly their language is written using Arabic letters making a great mix. Last but not least you're most successful with Russian than English - a different China.

Urumqi, China