Grand Bazaar

» Urumqi, Xin Jiang

Grand Bazaar Overview & Map Weather Transportation Information

"Bazaar" means market in the Uygur language. It plays the role of main channel of communication and commercial trading in people-to-people trading activity in Xinjiang.

Grand Bazaar is a place of interest in Xinjiang. With a total area of 100,000 square meters, it is the largest bazaar in the world. The Grand Bazaar focuses on peculiar features, transcendental posture and stands proudly in people-to-people trading activities. It is a window leading Xinjiang to the world and a door towards tourism and trade. Of traditional Moslem style, it always hangs thick ethical elegance.

The buildings with distinctive ethical and folk features, such as No.1 Sightseeing Tower, Erdaoqiao Mosque, Banquet-Performance Grand Theatre, Merry Square, Sunny Pedestrian Street, emit holy lightness of human wisdom and always makes you forget to return.

What to explore

The Grand Bazaar is a must to get a feel for the local life. It is a magnificent commercial complex with a strong Islamic architectural influence that includes a banquet hall, a food court, a sightseeing tower, an open-air stage, and a mosque. Grand Bazaar has formed a structure of "Grand Tourism" merging tour and sightseeing, ethical trade, food and beverage, ethical artistic shows and retail into a single whole.

The biggest trading center

It is the biggest distribution center of ethical handicrafts in Xinjiang, the biggest trading center of ethical carpet center, and well-known dry fruit center, jade article center, snack center and ethical carpet. At the same time international top commercial groups and famous brands here attract people flow and promote prosperity.

The artistic palace

The Grand Bazaar is the artistic palace gathering various ethical cultures including Han, Uygur, Hui and Kazak. It combines the art of songs and dances of Xinjiang and culture of Chinese feasts as a quantum jump.

Banquet-Performance Grand Theater

The Banquet-Performance Grand Theater can accommodate 1,000 people, make them enjoy cuisine of the Western Region, and at the same time appreciate ethical culture full of fascination.

The Grand Bazaar Ensemble of Song and Dance

The International Grand Bazaar Ensemble of Song and Dance is the largest one of its kind in Xinjiang, possessing several hundred minority artists and dancers with marvelous shows gaining many awards and well received at home and abroad.

What to buy

It covers an area of 100,000 square meters. The Grand Bazaar offers many different kinds of goods made in Xinjiang as well as ethnic food and souvenirs, as you would anticipate. Sometimes pleasant negotiation with vendors is required.

It is a great place to get interesting handcraft items like ethnic clothing, embroidery, and jewelry. Other handicrafts include jade carvings, Kashgar carpets, exotic knives, woodcrafts, and ethnic musical instruments. All are handmade and many can be found at very cheap price which makes the Grand Bazaar a fun place to shop for something a little special. Various fruit such as grapes, Hami melon, almonds, pomegranates, figs, peaches, apples are available here.

What to taste

• Noodles
  Wheat is the staple grain and mutton the most common meat in Xinjiang. Noodles, served in soup or stir fried, are plentiful. Cold noodles are a welcome treat in the summer.
• Rice and mutton dish (Shouzhua fan)
  This kind of rice and mutton comes in two types: one which is a little sweet with eggs, radishes, currants, dried apricots and peanuts; the other variety contains beef or mutton and onions.
• Baked pastry
  The baked pockets of pastry stuffed with spiced mutton that serves as a hearty breakfast or luch.
• Homemade ice cream
  One real treat here is the homemade ice cream shaved from a block of ice mixed with yogurt and sweetened with rice wine.

Attractions around » Urumqi, Xin Jiang

Natural Scene

• Tianshan Mountains
• Heavenly Lake
• Nanshan Pasture
• Red Hill

Shopping & Leisure

• Grand Bazaar

Grand Bazaar Highlights

Bazaar attraction highlights

• Grand Bazaar
• Kashgar Bazaar

city highlights

• Urumqi
• Kashgar

Xinjiang Cuisine

Xinjiang Cuisine tends to be very spicy too, with peppers and chili used to much the same effect as they are in Sichuan. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is inhabited by many ethnic groups, and Xinjiang-style food is characterized by roast mutton, kebabs, roast fish and rice to be eaten with the hand.

Xinjiang Kebab city highlights

• Urumqi
• Turpan
• Kashgar
• Korla
• Kuqa
• Burqin
• Yarkent
• Hotan
• Fuyun

Shopping Street in Great China

• Wangfujing Walking Street
• Tunxi Ancient Street
• Nanjing Road
• Shopping Heaven on Xujiahui Street
• Barkhor Street
• Foreign Tourist Street
• West Street
• Liulichang Culture Street
• Central Street
• Hefang Street
• Grand Bazaar
• Panjiayuan Collection Market
• Quanyechang Bazaar
• Dongtai Road Antique Market
• Shopping on Fuzhou Road
• Kaili Sunday Market
• Wai Chai
• Moslem Street
• Shiban Street
• Kundu Bar Street
• Lhasa Carpet Factory
• Shuyuanmen Street
• Fishermans Wharf
• Ancient Culture Street
• Pudong New Area
• Yandang Road Bar Street
• Kashgar Bazaar
• Jinli Street
• Tian Xia Shua Du
• Xi'an Antique Market
• Stanley Market
• Binhai Road
• Chunxi Road
• Senado Square
• Nanshi Food Street
• Xintiandi Area
• Wenbaozhai Tourist Shopping Center
• Red Market

Grand Bazaar FAQ & Travelers's Tips

  Weather

1. Some tips for Urumqi weather
2. When is the best time to visit Urumqi?

  Customs

1. What are some interesting festivals?
2. No-nos in Urumqi
3. Cherish your bread

  Other Hints

1. A note on the time difference
2. Avoid diarrhea
3. Useful numbers

• Some tips for Urumqi weather

  Dress warmly even when traveling in the hottest month (July and August) for the temperature differences between morning and night. Be sure to bring a sweater and trench coat in May, June, September and October. During the cold winter (November to March), you will need heavy winter wear.

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• When is the best time to visit Urumqi?

  The best period for visiting Urumqi is from May to October when flowers are in full bloom and the melons and fruits smell sweet and are ripe for the picking.

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• What are some interesting festivals?

  Corban Festival is one of the most important festivals. It is also known as 'Sacrifice Festival', which is hosted every December 10th by Islamic population.

  In preparation, all Muslims should clean and dress up to attend the ceremony at the Great Mosque. During the three-day holidays, people go door to door to exchange greetings in their best ethnic costumes.

  All homes serve the visitors delicious mutton. The thumping singing and dancing parties will be held in both urban and rural areas. Some sports activities: such as horse races, wrestling and sheep snatching are most popular among the Kazaks, Ozbeks and Tajiks nationalities.

  Lesser Bairam is also called 'Fast breaking Festival'. It is the New Year festival of the Hui nationality as well as other groups. Every adult Muslim fasts one month every year. During the Ramadan, the Muslims eat either before sunrise or after sunset. The last day of Ramadan is a holiday.

  The annual Silk Road Snow Folk Festival (Sichou Zhilu Bingxue Fengqing Jie) is a rising tourist festival in Urumqi. The grand opening ceremony is held in December and the festival usually lasts till the following March offering tourists a different travel experience

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• No-nos in Urumqi

  • 1. Do not shake water off your wet hands in public.
    
  • 2. Do not irritate Muslims by eating pork and by speaking about pigs in their presence.
    

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• Cherish your bread

  In all most Islamic cultures, naan (bread), is very important. It is not a good idea to throw it away. If you drop it, pick it up and carry it with you. Do not step on naan--It is important to treat it with some respect. Also, if you decide to eat naan while walking, break off a piece, and eat that. Do not bite into the whole loaf.

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• A note on the time difference

  Though the 'clock time' in Xinjiang is just the same as the rest of China, in fact there is a two hour difference in longitude between Urumqi and Beijing. For this reason the daily working hours are: 10:00 - 14:00, 15:30 - 19:30.

  While in Urumqi, you should modify you rest and dining times to be two hours later than if you were in a city in Middle China, otherwise you might feel out of step with local life. But don't forget that bus, train and flights all adopt Beijing Time. If you booked a flight to arrive or depart Urumqi at around 08:00, then you may find it is quite dark at that time. Please keep this in mind when making reservations

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• Avoid diarrhea

  Avoid drinking hot tea after eating fruits to avoid diarrhea.

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• Useful numbers

  • Ambulance: 120
    
  • Emergencies: 110
    
  • Fire: 119
    
  • Tel No. Enquiry: 114
    
  • Police: 110
    
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