Urumqi, Xinjiang, China

One day in this legendary city:

We flew into Urumqi from Dushanbe, glimpsing the Tian Shan mountains at dawn.

At first glance, Urumqi seemed like any other big city in China--
aside from a little signage in Uighur.

The center of the Uighur part of town is "The International Grand Bazaar of Xinjiang," built in 2003 by the Chinese in a style meant to recall the greatness of the silk road.

Parts of it are more "international" than "Xinjiang..."

...and it attracts a lot of Chinese tourists.

But we also saw signs of Uighur life and culture.

Still, overall, it seems that for Uighur culture, one would have to go beyond the tourist center of Urumqi.