The Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture Museum, near the central park, holds a significant collection that spans the region's history from the neolithic period through to the twentieth century. The highlights are the painted pottery assemblages from the Majiayao and related cultures — some of the finest examples in Gansu outside the provincial museum in Lanzhou, and displayed with enough context to make sense of the different phases and traditions within the broader neolithic sequence.
The Islamic heritage sections cover the history of Hui settlement in the region, the arrival of Sufi orders from the west, and the tragic upheavals of the nineteenth century. There are also ethnographic displays on the Dongxiang and Bonan peoples, two small Turkic-speaking Muslim groups who live in the prefecture. The museum has recently been renovated and the displays are better labelled in English than you might expect. Admission is free.