Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, a city of around a million people on the edge of the Yellow River with the Helan Mountains rising to the west. Most travellers heading between Lanzhou and Inner Mongolia pass straight through — which is a mistake. Spend a few days and Yinchuan earns its keep.
The city splits into an old and a new district. The new city clusters around the train station; the old city, a short bus ride away, is the more interesting half. Life there centres on the pedestrian street opposite the Drum Tower, an atmospheric spot lined with restaurants and market stalls. The surrounding streets reward a wander — Yinchuan has a strong Hui Muslim character, with mosques and halal food throughout. The Nanguan Mosque, one of the largest in China, is the heart of this community.
About 60 kilometres northwest of the city, a gorge in the Helan Mountains contains ancient rock carvings dating back some 10,000 years, depicting hunting scenes, human faces, and various animals. There is no public transport — a taxi from the train station runs to around 200 yuan — but the gorge makes an excellent day out, with good walking through dramatic scenery.
The real reason to make a detour here, though, is the West Xia Imperial Tombs — nine mausoleums of the Tangut Western Xia dynasty, a kingdom so thoroughly destroyed by Genghis Khan in 1227 that their written language died with them. The earthen mounds rise from the desert floor like truncated pyramids, unlike anything else in China. The Ningxia Museum in the city has excellent artefacts from the excavations. North of town, Sand Lake is a strange and appealing nature reserve where wetlands and sand dunes sit side by side.