The Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar in the Erdaoqiao district is one of the largest bazaars in Central Asia and the commercial centre of Uyghur life in Ürümqi. The entrance is hard to miss: a tall Uyghur-style gate marks the threshold between the city's Han commercial strips and something altogether different inside. The stalls sell dried fruit in mountains — raisins, apricots, figs, jujubes — alongside spices, carpets, silk, traditional Uyghur clothing, and the distinctive pichak (Uyghur knives) that make excellent if occasionally complicated souvenirs.
The bazaar is busiest in the mornings and on weekends. It has been commercially developed and is more organised than the chaotic bazaars of Kashgar or Khotan, but there is still genuine trading happening alongside the tourism. Walk through the covered sections rather than just the open-air frontage to find the less curated stalls. The surrounding streets of the Erdaoqiao neighbourhood extend the market experience further, with small food stalls, butchers hanging whole lamb carcasses, and teahouses where life moves at a slower pace.