Sight Overview
Yinchuan itself is a small city, divided into two parts known as the New City (Xincheng) and the Old City (Laocheng). All of this area’s best sights are either located in Laocheng or out of town. Surprising for somewhere so remote, Yinchuan is beginning to see a picking up in its tourist trade, especially in the tourist months and during national holidays, so it is worth visiting here before things change.
In Laocheng the most interesting sights include the distinctly Chinese Drum Tower (Gulou), the distinctly Muslim Mosque (Qingzhen si), the exhibition rooms of the Yuhuang Pavilion (Yuhuang ge), the views from the 65 meter high Western Pagoda (Xita), and the Provincial Museum (Ningxia bowuguan), that contains some nicely glazed pots, figurines and carvings. Just to the north of Laocheng, the Haibao Pagoda, is the city’s most architecturally interesting sight, standing at a height of 53.9 meters and punctuated by various windows and ledges.
Out of town, the Helan Mountain Range contains many sights. Within easy reach by tour (see Gunzhong Pass information) from the city include the hiking trails of the Gunzhong Pass, the giant earth hummocks of the Western Xia Tombs, the twin peaks of the Baisi Pass Double Pagodas (Baisikou shuangta), and Zhenbeibu, the village where Zhang Yimou’s film, Red Sorghum, was filmed. 60km north of Yinchuan lies the Sand Lake (Sha hu), that is a modern resort with swimming, hiking and boating on offer.
A little further away are two more sights that, as harder to access, are visited less. The 108 Dagobas, 80km south of Yinchuan, is a Yuan Dynasty construction of beauty. To the southeast, and around 160km away, the small town of Zhongwei also holds the province’s most interesting temple, the Gao Temple, which was built and rebuilt in order to cater to almost all of the religions/belief systems that have set foot in China, although mainly catering to Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. The imagined hell in the cellars is gruesomely interesting.
Sight Index
Gold Medals or silver Medals indicate Sights recommended by Lonelychina.
| 108 Dagobas (Yibailingba ta) Western Xia Tombs | Gao Temple Haibao Pagoda | Gunzhong Pass (Gunzhong kou) |
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