As you might expect from the biggest city in the old Silk Road lands of Xinjiang, shopping is good in Urumqi, whether it's carpets, knives and spices in a Uighur bazaar or electronics and brand-name fashions from the east of China, you can generally find it somewhere.

 

Xinhua Bei Lu is a major modern shopping street, full of boutiques and small shops selling name-brand fashions (real and imitation). It's located in a primarily Han Chinese part of town and can be very convenient, however it lacks the local color of the Uighur markets further south. For a true bazaar experience, hit the Erdaoqiao Market and neighboring International Bazaar in the southeastern part of the city. There you can strike great bargains on colorful locally produced silks (the finer stuff is known as Atlas or Hotan silk), beautiful handmade wool carpets, carved jade, semiprecious gems, jewelry, knives, musical instruments, clothing, crafts and Uighur music. For items of any value, bargain hard—you should be able to get prices down by at least 50% if not more.