Must-see attractions in Ningxia

Like giant beehives scattered on the arid eastern slope of the Helan mountains, the Xixia imperial tombs are Ningxia’s most celebrated sight. The earliest…

Cut honeycomb-like into five sandstone hills, 55km northwest of Guyuan, are 132 magnificent grottoes housing 300 Buddhist statues. They date back 1400…

Located in a white, fashionably fluid-lined building between the Yellow River and paddy fields is Yinchuan MOCA, the premier museum for contemporary art…

The most significant sight in Helan Shan is these ancient rock carvings dating from 1000 to 10,000 years ago. Over 2000 pictographs depict animals, faces,…

This cavernous museum contains an extensive collection of rock art and Silk Road artefacts. The highlights are relics from the imperial tombs of the Xixia…

This wacky film studio is where famed Chinese movies like Red Sorghum and many Hong Kong classics by Stephen Chow, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Tsui Hark…

This is one of China's most extraordinary temples. The three faiths of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism are revered here; it has an unusual roofline…

Of all the mosques in Ningxia, the most hallowed is the Great Mosque. Dating back to the 14th century (although the present mosque was built in 1573 and…

The desert playground of Shapotou, 17km west of Zhongwei, lies on the fringes of the Tengger Desert at the dramatic convergence of sand dunes, the Yellow…

Those on the trail of Genghis Khan will want to visit southern Ningxia’s Liùpán Shān, where some maintain the great man died in 1227. Legend attests that…

The centrepiece of this geopark is its Danxia landform, with its dramatic red rocks and steep cliffs. This is not the most impressive Danxia in China but…

This park is a good place to start exploring Helan Shan. The 5km northbound trail is quite challenging in parts and takes you to the highest point in the…

The collection of relics at this excellent museum features Neolithic pottery, lacquer coffin paintings from the Northern Wei dynasty, Tangut ceramics and…

This fantastically well-preserved pagoda in the north of town is a beauty. Its cross-shaped (from above), straight-edged and tapering form was exquisitely…

This unusual arrangement of Tibetan-style Buddhist dagobas (stupas) is 83km south of Yinchuan, not far from the town of Qingtongxia (青铜峡). The 12 rows of …

Gao Temple is located inside a nicely landscaped park with a willow-fringed pond, a dainty bridge and handsome pagodas. It's colourfully illuminated at…

Climb the 11 storeys of steep, narrow stairs of this brick pagoda topped with a green spire for 360-degree views of Yinchuan. The octagonal pagoda is also…

At this busy market with lanes flanked by mounds of local produce, the assortment of chilli peppers is astounding – all shapes, sizes and hotness levels:…

This archaeological site 25km east of Yinchuan, right on the border with Inner Mongolia, has been turned into something of an adventure theme park…

The sole surviving gate of the old town wall, Nánxūn Mén looks south out onto Nanmen Sq (南门广场, Nánmén Guǎngchǎng) from its position east of Nanxun Dongjie…