Urumqi Transportation - Getting Around

Urumqi metro has one line, line 1, in operation and three lines under construction nowadays: line 2, line 3 and line 4. Line 1 operates between Santunbei and Diwopu International Airport from 07:40 to 23:30. Line 2 phase one will link Yan’an Road and Huashan Street, including 16 stations and covering around 20 kilometers (12 miles). This line will serve the public in late 2020. Line 3 will serve the public in December, 2021, extending in the south-north direction with 18 stations. Besides, covering 21 kilometers (13 miles), phone one of line 4 will link Bainiao Lake and Qidaowan. By the year of 2030, 7 metro lines will serve in the city in total.
 Urumqi buses go serve the commercial center, residential areas, villages and tourist destinations. The bus service has approximately 100 routes and uses 2,000 vehicles. The service time is 08:00 to 22:00 every day. Ticket prices are between CNY1 and CNY2. Here are the main public bus routes and main stops:

No.1: Xi Bajiahu - Yixueyuan (Medicine College) - Ba Lou - Ming Yuan - Hong Shan (Red Hill) - Bei Men(North Gate) - People Square (City Center) - Nan Men (South Gate) - Er Dao Qiao (Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar) - Xinjiang University - Ling Yuan
No.2: Railway Station - Nianzigou - Hong Shan (Red Hill) - Ming Yuan - Ba Lou - Yixueyuan (Medicine College) - Tielu Ju (Railway Bureau) - Cai Yuan (Financial College)
No.17: Xingfu Lu (Happiness Road) - Ti Yu Guan (Gymnasium) - People Square (City Center) - Da Xi Men (wholesale market) - Hongshan (Red Hill) - Ming Yuan - New Agriculture University
No.27: Meiju Wuliu Yuan (Beauty House Shopping Center) - Tianjin Lu - Baiyuan Lu - Airport
No.36: Railway Station - Xinhua Nan Lu - Nan Men (South Gate) - Ti Yu Guan (Gymnasium) - People Square (City Center)
No.51: Santunbei - Urumqi Zoo - Changjiang Lu - Culture Palace - Hong Shan (Red Hill) - Ming Yuan - Museum - Airport

Bus Stop and Public Bus in Urumqi

No.52: Railway Station - Culture Palace - Hong Shan (Red Hill) - Ming Yuan - Youhao Lu - Ba Lou - Yixueyuan (Medicine College) - Da Xi Gou - Xiao Xi Gou - Tielu Ju (Railway Bureau) - Tianjin Lu
No.58: Railway Station - Nianzigou - Xi Gongyuan (West Park) - Xiao Xi Men (wholesale market) - Bei Men (North Gate) - Liu Dao Wan
No.101: Xinjiang Normal University - Yixueyuan (Medicine College) - Ba Lou - Youhao Lu - Ming Yuan - Hong Shan (Red Hill) - Bei Men (North Gate) - People Square (City Center) - Nan Men (South Gate) - Er Dao Qiao (Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar) - Xinjiang University - Shui Shang Le Yuan (Aquatic Fairyland)

 Tips:
1. The automobile station reporter on the public bus reports the stops in Chinese and Uygur, not in English. Please pay more attention to it or you may get off at wrong stop.
2. There are a number of Uygur people in Urumqi. Please take care of your speaking and behavior on public places and respect the habits and customs of them.
 

Taxi in Urumqi

Travelers are suggested to take a taxi to travel in downtown Urumqi so as to avoid crowds and pickpockets. At present, cars in Urumqi are of various brands like Santana, Jetta, Fukang, Zhonghua, Citroen and Passat. They are all very comfortable and most of them charge reasonably by using taximeter. It costs CNY10 for the first 3km (2mi); the charge is CNY1.3 for each additional kilometer (0.6km) during the day and CNY1.5 at night.

Remember to ask for the receipt from the driver when getting off the car. Information like the car plate number, the name of Taxi Company and taxi complaint number are all listed on the receipt. It is also suggested that you ask the hotel staff to write the Chinese characters of your destination in advance because taxi drivers in the city don't speak English.
 With a well arranged travel plan, renting a car to visit attractions in or around Urumqi can be a convenient and time-saving choice compared to traveling by bus. We suggest that you use a reliable agency to find a rental vehicle with a local driver. The price is differently ranging from CNY100 to CNY800 per day according to different vehicles. You'd better hire an experienced driver with the car who is familiar with way. There are ordinary cars, business cars and SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) to choose and business cars are most expensive. In addition, the rental is different as the types of vehicle vary. Extra CNY50/day or above is needed for a driver's pay.

Huijiang Car Rental Co. Ltd: 20/F, Bldg D, Hongyun Building, No.41, Youhao Bei Lu
Junlu'an Car Rental Co. Ltd: No.2, Aletai Lu

 Tips:
If you want to rent a car for a longer journey, we recommend a SUV as the roadway condition is not so good out of the city.
Some hotels also offer vehicles for renting, like Red October Hotel (Shi Yue Hong). Visitors can rent vehicles by hours: CNY30/hour for each car in the hotel (including the fare for petrol).
Address: No.42, Yangzijiang Lu