The Background
One of my visits to China was done during the winter; I intended to reach the far north – Manchuria – but temperatures of minus ten degrees Celsius in Beijing deflected me toward the west.
I have lived most of my life in regions where the temperatures crossed the thirty degrees line on an almost daily base; Manchuria’s minus forty was too frightening. Thus, I took a train to Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, hoping to stay at Beijing’s temperatures level while enjoying one of the most remote areas in China.
Nonetheless, up-to-date Ürümqi is my meteorological antipode; never – in all my travels – have I experienced such a bitter cold. I had learned there to treasure the tropics.
The Climate
Ürümqi geographical location invites extremes: nearby is the oasis-town of Turpan, where a temperature of 58°C was measured (one of the highest ever measured on earth), while the city winters are Siberian in nature.
The distance from the oceans dictates a dry continental climate with huge fluctuations of temperature between day and night. It is not only dry, but semi-arid also due to the low level of precipitations; despite that, in a archetypal Chinese linguistic structure, Ürümqi means "Graceful Pasture."
The average temperatures criteria is a misleading parameter in a place suffering of wild daily temperature changes; however, the summer average is a comfortable twenty-three Celsius, while in the winter the average drops to minus fifteen Celsius.
The spring and the autumn are short while the winter and the summer are long; that means that the best time to visit the area is between May to October. Even in the summer the evenings are cold; warm clothes are imperative while traveling in the area.
The Experience
I visited Ürümqi twice; the first time was the one in which I experienced the lower temperatures. Being February, the temperatures dropped to minus twenty-three Celsius; roughly fifty degrees below what I consider normal. Before reaching the area I let my beard grow; I thought that would be enough insulation, but lacking experience with cold climates, I couldn’t imagine what I was to experience.
It was so cold that the scarce moisture in the air crystallized immediately; the tiny crystals floating in the air beautifully reflected the sunlight – it felt like a natural Christmas. It was beautiful, but whenever I expelled air, the water vapors crystallized immediately on my moustaches; the crystals made crunchy sounds whenever I moved my face and broke apart.
The cars had pressed snow on the roads into slippery black ice; the denizens had a peculiar way to skid sideways on it while keeping their balance, but I was barely able to stand on it.
Needless to say, the food got cold almost immediately; most food stalls were insulated from the street by thick plastic covers and had huge heating stoves inside. Regardless the protection and heating, my last shish-kebab was always cold – soon I learned to order them one by one. The houses used double-glass windows to insulate themselves and that turned out to be very effective. Another striking characteristic of the city were the exercising apparatus regularly attached to the sidewalks; the denizens – from kids to grandpas – used them to heat themselves while outside.
Our planet is big and varied; experiencing its extremes – at least once in our lifetime – is a way to learn how to love it and value our favorite parts of it.