Urumqi Tourist Traps

Hello , i am uyghur and i live in urumqi , i can help you , i am about to be a tour guied and my sister is a tour guied ,and i would like to be your friend, i have been learning english for 3 years now , if you come to Urumqi you dont need to pay for tour guied because i am here ,if any one need a help like this i would like to help because i like to communicate with english speakers , you can E_mail me < shahzadhan@gmail.com > you are alwayes welcome .

Unique Suggestions: shahzadhan@gmail.com

Fun Alternatives: ok

Our local guide more or less obliged us to go to two government-run souvenir shops on our way to the airport, saying that he had to get a form stamped. We had been warned that this might happen, but found it hard to say no.

In the shops themselves, it was not possible to browse without assistants hovering and starting on the hard sell. This was counter-productive in our case, as it just made us determined not to buy anything.

Unique Suggestions: If you really don't want to buy jade jewellery, silk pyjamas, a carpet or whatever, just walk round quickly, without stopping to look at anything. Your guide cannot complain, as s/he has done their duty in delivering you to the shop, and obtained the necessary stamp.

1 more image

Maybe we did not allow enough time to see this naturally beautiful location (about 5 hours including journey from Urumqi). The lake and surrounding area is beautiful, but it seems that most tourists are expected to take a boat trip with the crowds for about 20 mins then leave again. There is a lot of disturbance from the PA systems playing music and commentary.
Some acqaintenence stayed overnight in a quieter part of the lake in the Kazakh yurts (thick fabric tents) and had a better experience including some horse riding. We had 10 mins in a yurt which was clearly setup for tourists (would anyone let tourists like me tramp thru their private house anyway ?, so I wasn't expecting a realistic experience).

Unique Suggestions: If I were to do it again I recommend that you take an overnight trip and make it clear to any guides you might have what things you would like to see.

Fun Alternatives: Still go to the lake but avoid the boat trip at the top of the windy mountain road, and continue around the lake to a quieter part.

Tian Chi is a deep-blue lake surrounded by hills, and in the distance one can see Tian Shan (Heavenly Mountains) peaks.

The lake is 115km from Urumqi and many tours start from Urumqi. It is very beautiful here but heavily touristed.

Admission fees have been hiked up to Y60 now and there seemed to be a charge for everything. The kitsch tours all include a chance to wear the Kazakh costumes and pose in front of Kazakh yurts, a favourite tacky photo-opportunity for Chinese tourists.

Unique Suggestions: If possible, stay the night in one of the Kazak yurts and explore the area after the day tourists are gone.

In Lonely Planet, Rashits Yurt was recommended and I guess, there are not many choices but be forewarned that the food prepared at Rashits is terrible.

This doesn't happen as much as it does in Beijing but beware of College students who say they want to show you their art work. They will lure you into an art show and never let you leave until you buy something expensive. This happened to countless numbers of my friends so watch out!

when buying groceries, snacks and drinks from anywhere besides those departmental stores...BARGAIN!
especially for those roadside stores, their prices are usually inflated...RMB2 to 2.50 should be the usual price for a bottle/can of drink. there are some who sell drinks at RMB3-6.

When staying at Tianchi for a night, the cost of the yurt is quite reasonable, but the price of the food is rather expensive especially when you want vegetable dishes. A dish of noodle costs RMB30-, a dish of tomato combined with some cucumber cost RMB20-,so do ask clearly before ordering.