¿Por qué tanta gente vive en Urumqi, la ciudad más alejada del océano?

Summary

Urumqi, the world's most inland city, is home to over 4 million people despite being over 2000 km from the coast. Its historical significance as a Silk Road hub and rich natural resources, including oil, have attracted residents. Government policies and internal migration have also contributed to its population growth. However, the city faces cultural tensions, particularly with the Uyghur Muslim minority, who have been subjected to state restrictions and 're-education' camps. Urumqi's unique geographical position also creates a peculiar time zone challenge, with locals often using 'Xinjiang time' two hours behind Beijing's official time.

Takeaways

• 🏙️ Urumqi is the world's farthest city from the ocean, located more than 2000 kilometers from the nearest coast.
• 🌍 Despite its remote location, Urumqi is home to over 4 million people, surpassing the populations of some countries like Croatia and Uruguay.
• 📈 China's population distribution is highly disproportionate, with 94% of its 1.4 billion people living in the eastern part, while 6% reside in the vast western region.
• 🔍 Urumqi stands out as a significant city in the less populated western side of China, with its population size being notable compared to the region's sparse population.
• 🏰 The city's historical significance as a cultural and commercial center on the Silk Road and part of the Mongol empire contributes to its importance.
• 💎 Urumqi's rich natural resources, including oil fields and mining reserves, have attracted people for job opportunities and contributed to its development.
• 🏭 The establishment of various industries such as thermal power plants, iron and steel factories, and textile factories in Urumqi has created economic activities and jobs.
• 🌾 Advances in technology have allowed for the expansion of arable land around Urumqi, boosting agricultural productivity and supporting a larger population.
• 🚆 Improved transportation and communication infrastructure, including railways, roads, and an international airport, have reduced Urumqi's isolation.
• 📊 Government policies have incentivized internal migration to populate the area with people from other regions of China, significantly increasing Urumqi's population.
• 🕊️ The cultural and religious differences between the Uyghur population and the Han Chinese migrants have led to tensions and conflicts in the region.
• ⏰ Urumqi faces a unique time zone challenge due to China's uniform time policy, causing practical difficulties and misunderstandings between different ethnic groups.

Q & A

Why is Urumqi considered the farthest city from the ocean in the world?

Urumqi is considered the farthest city from the ocean because it is more than 2000 kilometers from the nearest coast and is located very close to the pole of inaccessibility of Eurasia, which is the point furthest from the ocean in the world, approximately 160 kilometers north of the city.

How many people live in Urumqi, and how does this population compare to entire countries?

More than 4 million people live in Urumqi, a number that surpasses the populations of entire countries such as Croatia or Uruguay.

What is the significance of the Xinjiang region where Urumqi is located?

The Xinjiang region is significant because it is not only the largest region in China but also the eighth largest subnational entity in the world, covering 1.6 million square kilometers and surpassing Iran in size.

How did Urumqi become an important cultural and commercial center historically?

Urumqi became an important cultural and commercial center during the time of the Silk Road, as it was a key point on the extensive transport lines that linked Europe to the Far East.

What natural resources were discovered in the 1950s around Urumqi that contributed to its development?

In the 1950s, oil fields were discovered around Urumqi, which played a significant role in the development of the country. Additionally, mining and coal reserves were exploited, creating job opportunities and attracting people to the area.

How did technological advancements affect the agricultural productivity of Urumqi?

Technological advancements allowed for the expansion of arable areas in Urumqi, which in turn increased agricultural productivity and supported the settlement of more people in the region.

What transportation improvements have been made to reduce the relative isolation of Urumqi?

Transportation improvements include the construction of railways connecting Urumqi with the rest of China, the development of road infrastructure, and the establishment of an international airport that connects the city with several countries.

What government policies have influenced the population growth in Urumqi?

Government policies, particularly those decided from Beijing, have incentivized the migration of Chinese from other regions to populate the area. This internal migration has contributed to the population growth in Urumqi.

What cultural and religious tensions exist in Urumqi, and how have they been addressed by the Chinese government?

Urumqi is home to the Uyghur ethnic group, who have cultural and religious differences with the majority Han Chinese. The Chinese government has implemented restrictions and re-education camps to combat perceived extremism, which has led to tensions and human rights concerns.

What is the issue with time zones in China, and how does it specifically affect Urumqi?

China operates on a single official time zone despite its vast geographical spread. This results in significant discrepancies in daylight hours between the east and west of the country. In Urumqi, people often use a local time that is two hours behind Beijing time to better align with the sun's position.

How do the time zone discrepancies affect daily life in Urumqi, and what is the common practice regarding time?

The time zone discrepancies can cause confusion and misunderstandings, especially between the Han and Uyghur communities. While the Uyghurs often use a local time that is two hours behind the official Beijing time, the Han community follows the time dictated by Beijing.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 Remote Metropolis: Urumqi's Unique Demographics

This paragraph introduces Urumqi, the city farthest from any ocean, yet home to over 4 million people. Despite its remote location in the Xinjiang region of China, which is the largest subnational entity in the world, Urumqi stands out for its significant population. The script delves into the historical significance of the city during the Silk Road era, its rich natural resources that attracted development and population growth, and the infrastructure improvements that have reduced its isolation. The paragraph also touches on government policies that encouraged internal migration to the area, leading to a complex cultural and demographic landscape.

05:01

🏛️ Tensions and Time: The Plight of Urumqi's Uyghurs

The second paragraph discusses the challenges faced by the Uyghur community in Urumqi following the establishment of communism in China. It outlines the progression from periods of relative freedom to increased restrictions, culminating in the creation of 're-education camps' in 2017. These camps, purportedly aimed at combating extremism, have been criticized for imprisoning Muslim minorities and suppressing their cultural traditions. The paragraph also highlights the impact of these policies on the Uyghur way of life, including restrictions on religious practices and the prohibition of Islamic names. Additionally, it addresses the peculiar issue of timekeeping in Urumqi due to China's uniform time zone policy, which leads to significant discrepancies between local solar time and Beijing time, causing confusion and contributing to the cultural divide between the Uyghur and Han populations.

Keywords

💡Urumqi

Urumqi is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China and is highlighted in the video as the city farthest from the ocean, with more than 4 million inhabitants. It is a significant cultural and commercial center, historically important in the Silk Road trade routes and currently rich in natural resources, which has attracted a large population despite its remote location.

💡Silk Road

The Silk Road refers to the ancient network of trade routes that connected the East and West, facilitating cultural and commercial exchanges. In the context of the video, Urumqi was an important hub on the Silk Road, which contributed to its historical significance and development.

💡Xinjiang

Xinjiang is a vast region in northwest China, home to Urumqi and known for its large size, ranking as the largest in China and the eighth largest subnational entity in the world. The region's size and its position as a less populated area of China, except for Urumqi, is a key point in the video's discussion about population distribution.

💡Pole of Inaccessibility

The term 'Pole of Inaccessibility' refers to the point on land that is farthest from the sea, making it extremely remote. The video mentions that this point is near Urumqi, emphasizing the city's unique geographical position.

💡Natural Resources

Natural resources are materials and elements found in nature that are valuable to humans, such as oil, minerals, and coal. The video script notes that Urumqi's development was spurred by the discovery of oil fields and other natural resources in the 1950s, which created jobs and attracted people to the area.

💡Ethnic Groups

Ethnic groups are categories of people who identify with each other based on common ancestral, cultural, social, or national experiences. The video discusses the Uyghurs, the predominant ethnic group in Xinjiang, and their cultural differences and challenges within China, particularly in relation to the Han Chinese migration and government policies.

💡Internal Migration

Internal migration refers to the movement of people within a country from one region to another. The video mentions government incentives that encouraged Han Chinese to move to Xinjiang, contributing to Urumqi's population growth and the demographic changes in the region.

💡Re-education Camps

Re-education camps are facilities where people are detained and subjected to political indoctrination. The video describes these camps in Xinjiang as a place where Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are detained, ostensibly to combat extremism, but in practice, it involves cultural suppression and human rights abuses.

💡Time Zones

Time zones are regions of the Earth that observe the same standard time due to their longitudinal position. The video script points out the peculiarity of China's single time zone policy, which affects Urumqi and creates a disconnect between local solar time and official time, leading to the informal use of 'Xinjiang time' by the Uyghurs.

💡Cultural Suppression

Cultural suppression refers to the deliberate attempt to diminish or eliminate the cultural characteristics of a group. The video discusses how the Chinese government's policies have led to the suppression of Uyghur traditions, including restrictions on religious practices and cultural expressions.

💡Demographic Disproportion

Demographic disproportion refers to an uneven distribution of a population across different areas. The video script illustrates this concept by comparing the densely populated eastern part of China with the sparsely populated western region, where Urumqi stands out as a significant population center.

Highlights

Urumqi is the farthest city from the ocean in the world, located more than 2000 kilometers from the nearest coast.

Despite its remote location, over 4 million people live in Urumqi, which is a significant population compared to some countries.

China's population distribution is disproportionate, with 94% living in the eastern part, which occupies less than half of the territory.

Urumqi stands out in the less populated western zone of China, which covers 57% of the territory but only houses 6% of the population.

The Xinjiang region, where Urumqi is located, is the largest in China and the eighth largest subnational entity in the world.

Urumqi's location is near the pole of inaccessibility of Eurasia, the point furthest from the ocean in the world.

Urumqi was an important cultural and commercial center during the Silk Road era, contributing to its historical significance.

The city's rich natural resources, including oil fields discovered in the 1950s, have attracted people for job opportunities.

Infrastructure development such as power plants, factories, and an oil refinery has contributed to Urumqi's growth.

Agricultural productivity has been enhanced through technology, allowing more people to settle in the area.

Improvements in communications and transportation have reduced the relative isolation of Urumqi.

Government policies have incentivized internal migration to populate the area with people from other Chinese regions.

The Uyghur population has faced cultural restrictions and the establishment of re-education camps since the arrival of communism in China.

China's time zone policy causes complications for Urumqi, as the official time is the same throughout the country despite the vast distances.

Urumqi residents often use their own local time, two hours behind Beijing time, to align more with the sun's position.

The Han ethnic group follows Beijing's time zone, leading to misunderstandings and the need to specify time references.

Transcripts

If we find ourselves in this city we will be

more than 2000 kilometers from the nearest coast.

Despite its remote location, more than 4 million people live there.

We invite you to find out why so many people live in Urumqi,

the farthest city from the ocean in the world.

Before, this background has nothing to do with what we are going to talk about today,

but this video takes us on a trip.

That China is a demographic superpower is not new.

With its 1.4 billion inhabitants, it is home to one in six living humans.

However, there is a total disproportion between the east and west of the country.

In the eastern part, which occupies less than half of the territory, 94% of the Chinese live.

In the western zone, which reaches 57% of the territory, the remaining 6% of the population lives.

However, there is one city that stands out on the less populated side.

No less than 4 million people live in Urumqi.

It is true that it seems small next to Beijing or Shanghai, but there are a lot of people.

Let's think that it surpasses entire countries like Croatia or Uruguay.

The area around Urumqi is obviously not as populated.

The Xinjiang region, where the city is located, is enormous: not only is it the largest

in China, it is the eighth largest subnational entity in the world.

With 1.6 million square kilometers it surpasses Iran,

the country that is in 17th place among the largest.

But Urumqi not only stands out for the number of people it houses,

but also because it does so in a very particular location.

The thing is that very close to there is the pole of inaccessibility of Eurasia.

What's that?

It is the place that is furthest from the ocean in the entire world.

It is about this exact point, which is located about 160 kilometers north of Urumqi

and no less than 2,514 kilometers from these three coastal points.

If for some magical reason we suddenly find ourselves in this place,

we will have to travel more than 2,500 kilometers in a straight line to reach the coast.

This doesn't happen anywhere else on Earth.

As we have seen in other videos, it is common for coastal cities

to be the ones that host the most people.

In this case something opposite happens:

an agglomeration with many people that almost couldn't be further from the sea.

There are several causes that help us understand what is happening there.

In principle, it is not a recent phenomenon, but there is a historical component.

Urumqi was an important cultural and commercial center at the time of the Silk Road

and the extensive

transport lines that linked Europe to the Far East ran through it .

In fact, it was a very important place for the Mongol empire, of which it was part.

Especially for the intellectual contribution of the people, who even gave writing to the Mongols.

Added to this is that it is an area rich in natural resources.

In the 1950s, oil fields were discovered

that served for the development of the country.

Mining and coal reserves were also exploited,

which obviously generated job opportunities and attracted many people.

This was complemented by different economic activities that were also developed:

a thermal power plant, iron and steel factories,

a cement factory, chemical plants, an oil refinery and textile factories were built.

Furthermore, since the middle of the last century, arable areas have been expanded

thanks to technology, which favored the agricultural productivity of the place

and allowed more people to settle.

Even despite the extreme temperature records,

since it is very cold in winter and very hot in summer.

On the other hand, despite being in a mountainous area and difficult to navigate,

communications and transportation have been improved, which reduced the relative isolation of the place.

The railway connects it with the rest of the country, as do the roads.

In addition, it has an international airport that connects it with several countries.

There is another component that is added to population growth

and it has to do with government policies.

As on many occasions, centralized policies were decided from Beijing

that affected millions of inhabitants.

In this case, there were specific incentives to populate the area with Chinese from other regions.

Basically, something similar happened to what we saw with the case of the Tibet region.

Millions of Han Chinese, the country's majority,

arrived in an area far from the political center of the country and populated by local groups

. That is, Urumqi also benefited from internal migration.

However, coexistence was not simple or peaceful.

The Uyghurs have historically lived in this region.

Culturally they have obvious differences with many of their compatriots

and are closer to some of the peoples of Central Asia.

In fact, the majority of Uyghurs are Muslims.

Since the arrival of communism in China, the Uyghurs have gone through stages

with greater restrictions and others with greater freedom.

The current one may be one of the worst.

In 2009, a series of protests ended with 192 deaths and from there everything got worse.

Restrictions increased little by little until

the so-called re-education camps were created in 2017.

According to the government, the objective of these places is to combat extremism and terrorism

and those who go do so of their own free will.

But in practice Muslim minorities are imprisoned.

They are taught the Chinese language and the traditions of the Uyghurs are fought.

To make matters worse, in some cases motives are not even given,

but rather people are simply imprisoned at random.

No explanations are given and they cannot communicate with their families.

In this way, they begin to disappear overnight due to state actions.

Foreign media estimated that 10% of the Uighur population

is in these camps.

To make matters worse, many others chose to go into exile to avoid arrests,

making the reality of their culture increasingly difficult.

In fact, long beards and headscarves are not permitted,

Islamic names are prohibited, and official officials in the region

cannot practice Islam.

In the midst of these problems it may seem anecdotal, but there is another

very particular daily complication that Urumqi suffers and it has to do with watches.

In China something special happens with time zones.

Despite the enormous extension from east to west,

the official time is the same throughout the country.

This causes tremendous gaps.

For example, if we cross the border into Afghanistan we will have to turn

our clocks back three and a half hours, something that is a record on the planet.

At the same time, if we cross the eastern border into Russia,

the hands will have to be moved forward two hours.

What happens then is that east and west have the same time zone

but the sun indicates very different things.

For example, in an area of ​​Xinjiang, near Urumqi,

the sun rises in January at 10:15 and sets at 19:45.

In July, when the days are longer, it leaves at 7:35 and only gets dark

at 10:25 p.m.

On the other hand, in the easternmost part of the country the opposite happens.

In January the sun rises at 6:55 and it becomes night at 3:20 p.m.

In July, with longer days, the sun already rises at 3:05 am, and will only set at 7:10 pm.

And how does this affect Urumqi?

The official time zone is so strange that, in practice,

many choose to use their own, two hours behind, which has more to do with the sun.

But not everyone does it, only the Uyghurs.

Those of the Han ethnic group, on the other hand, follow what Beijing dictates,

which is why there are often misunderstandings.

Every time a time is indicated, it must be clarified whether it is Xinjiang time or Beijing time.

So not only is it the furthest big city from the ocean, but Urumqi is witness

to arbitrary state arrests and a very strange relationship with watches.

Did you know anything about this region?

What caught your attention the most?

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