It has been estimated that more than a million people were slaughtered, and it took generations for it to recover.
During the Qing Dynasty (1763) the Qianlong Emperor named the expanded town of Luntai "Dihua" (Chinese:迪化; pinyin: Díhuà; Manchu: Wen de dahabure fu), meaning "to enlighten." In 1884, the Guangxu Emperor established Xinjiang as a Province, with Dihua as its capital.
The Battle of Urumqi (1870) took place in 1870 between the Turkic Muslim forces of Yaqub Beg against the Dungan Muslim forces of Tuo Ming (Daud Khalifa). With the help of Xu Xuegong's Han Chinese militia, Yaqub Beg's forces defeated the Dungans.
During the Kumul Rebellion the Battle of Urumqi (1933) and the Battle of Urumqi (1933–34) took place between the forces of Ma Zhongying's 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) and Jin Shuren and Sheng Shicai's provincial forces. At the second battle Ma was assisted by Han chinese General Zhang Peiyuan.
Following the founding of the People's Republic of China, on 1 February 1954, the city was renamed Ürümqi, meaning "beautiful pasture" in the Mongolian language of the Dzungar people.
The city suffered unrest in May 1989 with 150 injuries, and was the site of major rioting in July 2009 due to conflicts between Han and Uyghur ethnic groups in which nearly 200 people were left dead. Reports of extensive police retaliation against the Uyghur minority have circulated ever since, despite the Chinese government having shut down access to emails and overseas phone calls
