Ürümqi is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ü…Ürümqi is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an, also the second-largest in Central Asia in terms of population, right before Kabul, Afghanistan. Ürümqi has seen significant economic development since the 1990s and currently serves as a regional transport node and a cultural, political and commercial center.