There's a program on PBS called Great Railway Journeys. The train trip from Urumqi to Almaty is not one of them. Urumqi, you'll recall from geography class, is the capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China and is the most inland city in the world. Almaty, formerly known as Alma Ata, is the capital of the newly minted nation of Kazakhstan, the one that keeps beating Canada at hockey. Urumqi is a boomtown in the extreme northwestern part of China.
Cranes adding new skyscrapers to the skyline dominate any view of the city.
The streets are full of luxury cars sporting stickers from dealerships with names like Great Wall Mercedes and Khyber Pass Honda. Just about everyone is yakking on a cell phone. There was no way we were going to get out of this city without any help. Standing in line in a Chinese train station without being able to speak the language is an exercise in futility. While waiting for our tickets for the night train out of there, we explored the city.