Atlas of China
Listed sites in Ningxia 宁夏
55 scenic areas and heritage sites from the official lists, by city. 10 have a page of their own; the rest open as cards on the map.
The A-level rating is the national grading of scenic areas, 5A being the top tier; national heritage sites are the buildings, ruins, tombs and carvings protected by the State Council. Both lists are on the lists page.
5A scenic areas in Ningxia
- Liupan Mountain Long March Memorial 六盘山红军长征纪念馆 5A scenic area · on the map
A memorial complex on the pass over the Liupan Mountains, the last high range the Red Army crossed on the Long March in October 1935, a crossing Mao Zedong marked in his poem 'Mount Liupan'. - Qingtongxia Yellow River Grand Canyon and 108 Stupas 青铜峡黄河大峡谷 5A scenic area · National heritage site
A scenic area of about 126 km² around the Qingtongxia gorge, officially described as the last gorge on the upper Yellow River, taking in the Qingtongxia dam (begun in 1958), a water-conservancy museum and the Dayu culture park at the heart of the Ningxia Yellow River irrigation system, a World Heritage Irrigation Structure. - Sand Lake (Shahu) 沙湖 5A scenic area · on the map
A freshwater lake fringed with reed beds and backed by sand dunes, developed for tourism since 1990 from a fish lake on a state farm; the scenic area covers about 80 km², including some 45 km² of water and 22 km² of semi-mobile dunes. - Shuidonggou 水洞沟 5A scenic area · National heritage site
One of the first Palaeolithic sites excavated in China: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Émile Licent dug here in 1923, and later excavations recovered stone tools, hearths and ostrich-eggshell beads left by late Palaeolithic people. - Zhenbeibu China West Film Studio 镇北堡西部影城 5A scenic area
A film studio founded by the writer Zhang Xianliang in the ruins of two old frontier forts at Zhenbeibu, on the plain below the Helan Mountains.
By city
Guyuan (8) · Shizuishan (5) · Wuzhong (9) · Yinchuan (26) · Zhongwei (7)
Guyuan 8 sites
- Liupan Mountain Long March Memorial 六盘山红军长征纪念馆 5A scenic area · on the map
A memorial complex on the pass over the Liupan Mountains, the last high range the Red Army crossed on the Long March in October 1935, a crossing Mao Zedong marked in his poem 'Mount Liupan'. - Guyuan Museum 固原博物馆 4A scenic area · on the map
A national first-grade museum, opened in 1988, with about 20,000 objects and best known for Silk Road finds from the Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang tombs excavated around Guyuan. - Jiangtaibu Long March Meeting Site 将台堡红军长征会师纪念园 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
The earthen fort where the Red Army's Second Front Army met the First Front Army on 22 October 1936, after the First and Fourth had met at Huining on 9 October; the meeting completed the union of the three main Red armies and is taken as the end of the Long March. - Liupan Mountain National Forest Park 六盘山国家森林公园 4A scenic area · on the map
A national forest park in the Liupan Mountains of southern Ningxia, whose main peak, Migang Shan, reaches 2,942 m; the damp slopes carry birch, poplar, oak and bamboo thickets that stand out from the dry Loess Plateau around them. - Xumishan Grottoes 须弥山石窟 4A scenic area · National heritage site
More than 130 Buddhist cave temples cut into the red sandstone hills of Mount Xumi from the late Northern Wei to the Tang dynasty, spread over about 1.5 km in groups such as Dafolou, Zisungong, Yuanguangsi, Xiangguosi and Taohuadong. - Daying Ancient City 大营城址 National heritage site · on the map
The rammed-earth walls of a frontier town built in the Song dynasty, when it was known as Yangmacheng ('horse-rearing town'), and used under the Ming from 1406 as a state horse-breeding station. - Guyuan Ancient City Walls 固原古城遗址 National heritage site · on the map
Surviving sections of the walls of Guyuan, founded in 114 BC as the seat of Anding commandery and rebuilt many times as a frontier stronghold; under the Ming it was one of the Nine Border Garrisons and seat of the governor-general of the three Shaanxi frontiers, and its outer wall was faced with brick in 1575. - Kaicheng Site (Palace of the Prince of Anxi) 开城遗址 National heritage site · on the map
Remains of the palace of Manggala, Prince of Anxi and third son of Kublai Khan, built from 1272 at Kaicheng in the northern Liupan Mountains and used as a Yuan imperial summer retreat until an earthquake wrecked it in 1306.
Shizuishan 5 sites
- Sand Lake (Shahu) 沙湖 5A scenic area · on the map
A freshwater lake fringed with reed beds and backed by sand dunes, developed for tourism since 1990 from a fish lake on a state farm; the scenic area covers about 80 km², including some 45 km² of water and 22 km² of semi-mobile dunes. - Huaxia Qishishan Park 华夏奇石山 4A scenic area · on the map
A landscaped park of about 1.1 km² beside Xinghai Lake in Dawukou, created by grading, covering and planting a former power-station ash dump that stood 13 m above the surrounding land. - Shengwei Ancient City 省嵬城 National heritage site · on the map
The rammed-earth walls of a city founded in 1024 by the Tangut ruler Li Deming, a square of about 590 m a side that is described as the only Western Xia town site in Ningxia with a complete circuit of walls. - Tianzhou Pagoda 田州塔 National heritage site · on the map
A seven-storey hexagonal brick pagoda about 38 m tall in Yaofu town, Pingluo county, once part of a temple; its present structure dates from a Qing rebuilding after the 1739 earthquake. - Yuhuang Pavilion, Pingluo 平罗玉皇阁 National heritage site · on the map
A Taoist temple complex on North Street in Pingluo county town, on the site of a Ming White Dragon temple that was rebuilt as a Jade Emperor pavilion in the late 19th century and enlarged in 1939.
Wuzhong 9 sites
- Qingtongxia Yellow River Grand Canyon and 108 Stupas 青铜峡黄河大峡谷 5A scenic area · National heritage site
A scenic area of about 126 km² around the Qingtongxia gorge, officially described as the last gorge on the upper Yellow River, taking in the Qingtongxia dam (begun in 1958), a water-conservancy museum and the Dayu culture park at the heart of the Ningxia Yellow River irrigation system, a World Heritage Irrigation Structure. - Dong Fuxiang's Mansion (Dong Fu) 董府 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
The fortified residence of Dong Fuxiang, the late-Qing general whose Gansu troops took part in the 1900 siege of the Beijing legations, built in 1902–1905 after he was dismissed and sent home. - Habahu Lake Ecotourism Area 哈巴湖 4A scenic area · on the map
A national nature reserve on the south-western edge of the Mu Us Desert, where small lakes and wetlands lie among sand dunes, dry steppe and planted belts of willow, peashrub and other trees. - Niujiafang Folk Culture Village 牛家坊 4A scenic area · on the map
A village on the southern edge of Wuzhong developed as a rural tourism area of about 130 ha, with grey-brick houses, rammed-earth courtyard walls and a village museum of Yellow River farming and folk life. - Tongxin Great Mosque 同心清真大寺 4A scenic area · National heritage site
Regarded as Ningxia's oldest and largest mosque, it is built in Chinese style with Islamic decoration on a 7 m brick platform; it probably began as a Yuan-period Buddhist temple, became a mosque in the early Ming and was rebuilt several times, notably in 1791 and 1907. - Yanzhou Ancient City Cultural Tourism Area 盐州古城 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
A cultural tourism district on the north side of Yanchi county town, laid out along the Ming Great Wall that runs past the town and forming the core of Yanchi's part of the Great Wall National Cultural Park. - Kangji Temple Pagoda 康济寺塔 National heritage site · on the map
A 13-storey octagonal brick pagoda of the dense-eaves type in the old town of Weizhou, about 43 m tall since its 1985 restoration. - Xingwuying Ming Garrison Town 兴武营城址 National heritage site · on the map
The walls of a Ming garrison town founded in 1444 where two lines of the Ming Great Wall meet, a rough rectangle about 600 by 475 m with barbican gates on its south and west sides. - Zhangjiachang Ancient City Site 张家场城址 National heritage site · on the map
The site of a walled town used from the late Qin to the early Eastern Han, which archaeologists believe was the seat of Xuyan county; its low rammed-earth walls are now mostly buried under drifting sand.
Yinchuan 26 sites
- Shuidonggou 水洞沟 5A scenic area · National heritage site
One of the first Palaeolithic sites excavated in China: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Émile Licent dug here in 1923, and later excavations recovered stone tools, hearths and ostrich-eggshell beads left by late Palaeolithic people. - Zhenbeibu China West Film Studio 镇北堡西部影城 5A scenic area
A film studio founded by the writer Zhang Xianliang in the ruins of two old frontier forts at Zhenbeibu, on the plain below the Helan Mountains. - Bairuiyuan Goji Museum 百瑞源枸杞博物馆 4A scenic area · on the map
A company museum run by the goji (wolfberry) producer Bairuiyuan, tracing what it presents as 4,000 years of goji culture and the modern Ningxia goji industry. - Changyu Longyu Chateau (Moser XV) 张裕龙谕酒庄 4A scenic area · on the map
Changyu's Ningxia wine estate, opened in 2013 as Chateau Changyu Moser XV, a joint venture with the Austrian winemaker Lenz Moser, and rebranded Longyu in 2021. - COFCO Great Wall Tianfu Winery 中粮长城天赋酒庄 4A scenic area · on the map
A winery of COFCO's Great Wall Wine brand, completed in 2012 on reclaimed desert land at the foot of the Helan Mountains, just across the road from the Western Xia tombs. - Helan Mountain National Forest Park (Suyukou) 贺兰山国家森林公园 4A scenic area · on the map
A forest park in the Suyukou valley of the Helan Mountains, inside the Helan Mountains national nature reserve north-west of Yinchuan. - Hengcheng Yellow River Resort 黄河横城 4A scenic area · on the map
A Yellow River-themed resort on the east bank opposite Yinchuan, built around Hengcheng, a Ming-dynasty fort on the riverbank where the Great Wall east of the river began, beside an old ferry crossing used by the Kangxi Emperor in 1697. - Huangsha Ancient Ferry 黄沙古渡 4A scenic area · on the map
A Yellow River leisure area on the east bank north-east of Yinchuan, named after an old ferry crossing and combining sand dunes, reed wetland and riverside farmland. - Huaxia Hetu Yinchuan Art Town 华夏河图银川艺术小镇 4A scenic area · on the map
An arts district on the west bank of the Yellow River south-east of Yinchuan, developed around the Museum of Contemporary Art Yinchuan (MOCA Yinchuan). - Mingcui Lake National Wetland Park 鸣翠湖国家湿地公园 4A scenic area · on the map
A national wetland park, approved in 2006 and covering 6.67 km², around a 2.88 km² freshwater lake that survives from an old chain of lakes east of Yinchuan and was restored from farmland from 2000 onwards. - Ningxia Agri-Tourism Park 宁夏农旅产业园 4A scenic area · on the map
A 2,170-mu (about 145 ha) agricultural park started in 2009 by the state-owned Ningxia Nongken group just outside Helan county town. - Rock Paintings of Helan Mountains (Helankou) 贺兰山岩画 4A scenic area · National heritage site
The Helankou gorge is the best-known site of the Helan Mountains petroglyphs, with some 6,000 images carved on boulders and cliff faces along the valley and generally dated to between about 10,000 and 3,000 years ago. - Seeing Helan Performance Town (Manpu Town) 看见贺兰演艺小镇 4A scenic area · on the map
A modern leisure town opened in 2016 across National Road 110 from the Zhenbeibu film studio, first built around a Helan Mountains wine theme and later relaunched as the 'Seeing Helan' immersive performance town. - Tianshanhai World (Yellow River Pearl) 天山海世界·黄河明珠 4A scenic area · on the map
An indoor water park in Binhe New Area on the east bank of the Yellow River, with heated pools and water slides kept warm all year. - Western Xia Culture Park 西夏风情园 4A scenic area · on the map
A Western Xia (Tangut) themed park at the foot of the Helan Mountains on Yinchuan's western edge, with new buildings in imitation Western Xia palace style set among lakes and gardens. - Wofu Bairui Ningxia Goji Hall 沃福百瑞宁夏枸杞馆 4A scenic area · on the map
A goji (wolfberry) exhibition hall opened in 2022 by the Ningxia producer Wofu Bairui in Yinchuan's Xixia District. - Yellow River Military Culture Park 黄河军事文化博览园 4A scenic area · on the map
A defence-themed park in Binhe New Area on the east bank of the Yellow River, opened in 2013 around the decommissioned destroyer Yinchuan, one of China's first-generation guided-missile destroyers, which served from 1976 to 2012. - Yuehai Bay 阅海湾 4A scenic area · on the map
A large lake and park area in Jinfeng District covering 1,739 ha, 922 ha of it water, made up of Yuehai National Wetland Park, a water park, Lanshan Park and the Flower Expo Garden. - Yuquan International Winery 玉泉国际酒庄 4A scenic area · on the map
A winery of the state-owned Ningxia Nongken group in the Yuquan wine village of Yongning County, set among vineyards, with buildings in Song-dynasty style decorated with classical wine poetry; it bills itself as China's first poetry-themed winery. - Zhihui Yuanshi Winery 志辉源石酒庄 4A scenic area · on the map
A winery in the Helan Mountains foothills built on an abandoned gravel quarry, restored with vineyards, shelter woods and underground cellars dug into the old pits. - Haibao Pagoda 海宝塔 National heritage site
Yinchuan's 'North Pagoda', a square brick tower on a high platform, about 54 m tall in total, whose stepped projections give it a twelve-cornered plan; it stands in Haibao Temple, the seat of the Ningxia Buddhist Association. - Hongfo Pagoda 宏佛塔 National heritage site · on the map
A late Western Xia brick pagoda (about 1190–1227) standing alone in the countryside of Helan County, with an unusual two-part form: a three-storey octagonal tower topped by a Tibetan-style stupa. - Pagoda of Chengtian Temple 承天寺塔 National heritage site · on the map
Yinchuan's 'West Pagoda', an eleven-storey octagonal brick pagoda 64.5 m high, the tallest in Ningxia. - Twin Pagodas of Baisikou 拜寺口双塔 National heritage site
Two Western Xia-period brick pagodas standing 100 m apart on a terrace at the mouth of the Baisikou gorge in the Helan Mountains, where more than a hundred temples once stood. - Yongning Najiahu Mosque 纳家户清真寺 National heritage site · on the map
A Hui mosque in Najiahu village, Yongning County, founded in 1524 by members of the Na clan, who trace their descent from the Yuan-dynasty statesman Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din. - Yuhuang Pavilion, Yinchuan 银川玉皇阁 National heritage site
A Taoist pavilion complex on an 8 m brick-faced platform in the old centre of Yinchuan, rebuilt as a Jade Emperor temple after the earthquake of 1739 on the site of a drum tower first built in the Yongle era of the Ming.
Zhongwei 7 sites
- Sikouzi Scenic Area 寺口子 4A scenic area · on the map
A gorge scenic area of about 18 km² in the hills south of Xuanhe town, known in ancient times as Beihai. - Tengger Desert Wetland – Jinsha Island 腾格里沙漠湿地·金沙岛 4A scenic area · on the map
A wetland leisure area on the south-eastern edge of the Tengger Desert, where a chain of lakes and reed beds meets the dunes, with an island in the main lake. - Damaidi Rock Art 大麦地岩画 National heritage site · on the map
A dense field of rock carvings in the Weining Northern Mountains north of Zhongwei, where thousands of panels with roughly 8,000 individual figures have been recorded in a core area of about 6 km², showing hunting, herding, animals and sun and moon symbols. - Gao Temple, Zhongwei 中卫高庙 National heritage site
A temple complex in central Zhongwei that brings Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian halls together on terraces rising from the gate to a three-storey main tower 29 m high. - Liuzhou City Ruins (Tiandu Fort) 柳州城址 National heritage site · on the map
The rammed-earth walls of Tiandu, a Northern Song frontier fort later taken by the Western Xia, who are thought to have based their Tiandu military command here; it was abandoned in 1749, when a new town was built a few kilometres to the east on the site of present-day Haiyuan. - Mingshazhou Pagoda 鸣沙洲塔 National heritage site · on the map
An eleven-storey octagonal brick pagoda in Anqing Temple at Mingsha town, on the south bank of the Yellow River in Zhongning County. - Qiying Beizui City Ruins 七营北嘴城址 National heritage site · on the map
The rammed-earth walls of a frontier town founded in the Sui dynasty, made the seat of Xiaoguan county under the Tang and garrisoned until the late Ming, at Beizui village near Qiying.