Yinchuan's main appeal lies in its Hui Muslim culture, the dramatic Helan Mountains on its western edge, and some genuinely unusual history — the city was once the capital of the Western Xia (Xi Xia) dynasty, a Tangut kingdom that flourished from the 11th to the 13th centuries before being wiped from the map by Genghis Khan. The imperial tombs they left behind are unlike anything else in China.