Presently, they are being brought up to scale. With the rapid development of culture and education, Urumqi has become China's important western gateway and a window for external economic and cultural exchange. In recent years, the environment for investment has been significantly improved. With Urumqi as its center, and with the 7 national highway trunks as its scaffolding, it radiates to the east to connects with the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai, to the south with Tibet, to the west with all the Central Asian countries, and within Xinjiang there are 62 trunk roads that make up a public transportation network. The Urumqi Airport is one of China's six gateway airports serving as a passage to Western Asia and Europe.
Telecommunication network is also in the process of perfection.
Since ancient times the peoples of Xinjiang have recognized and utilized petroleum. In modern times, Xinjiang was one of the earliest regions in the country to develop the petroleum industry and to achieve results. Presently, Xinjiang has the biggest oil fields in China's northwest and it is also a reserve base for the land exploration for oil with the most optimistic prospects. Reserves of oil and natural gas in the Tarim, Junggar, Turpan and Hami Basins are extremely rich. Xinjiang has initially developed petrochemical bases in Urumqi, Karamai- Dushanzi, and Zepu.