Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the political, economic, cultural, scientific and educational, financial and transportation center of the whole region. It is a transportation and communication hub connecting the north and south of Xinjiang and the mainland of China, Central and West Asia and Europe. It is the bridgehead of the second Eurasian Land Bridge in western China and an important gateway for China to open to the west. It is also the largest city in the five Central Asian countries.