The general situation of Yinchuan

　
　 Beautiful night scene of Yinchuan

　　Yinchuan is the capital city of Ningxia Autonomous Region, which is the political, economic, and cultural center of the whole region. It comprises of Xingqing District, Jinfeng District, Xixia District, Yongning County, Helan County, and Lingwu City. With a total area of 7,160 square kilometers, Yinchuan has a population of 1.3 million, 30% of which are the Hui ethnic group, and it is also one of the famous historical and cultural cities in China.

Yinchuan Drum-tower

　　The origin of the city is the source of a beautiful legend: Long, long ago, a beautiful phoenix—symbol of happiness and luck-flew from southern China to the north of the Great Wall. As it passed over Yinchuan, the local people turned out to greet it warmly. The phoenix was so delighted that it landed on the bank of the Yellow River. It then flew over the Yellow River, delineating crisscrossing canals and filling them with water from the Yellow River. This changed everything here: Mount Liupan, formerly enveloped by misery clouds, was covered with green, so did the snowcapped Helan Mountain, and the Ningxia Plain became a fertile land strewn with cattle and sheep. However, just at the moment, war broke out. To defend the local people, the phoenix changed into a city to shut the invaders out. From then on, the phoenix was no longer able to fly over the sky. It is said that the Drum Tower in Yinchuan is the head of the phoenix, while the Western Tower (Chengtian Temple Tower) and the North Tower (Haibao Tower) are its legs. The water in the Yinjia Canal that flows through downtown is the phoenix’s blood, irrigating the fields in the city’s suburbs. Later, people called the city “Phoenix City”. The name has lasted until today.
Set up in the year 678, Yinchuan is famous for its long history. Despite dynastic changes, it was always the administrative center in Ningxia under various names. It was formally named Yinchuan in 1947 and was appointed to be the capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in 1958.
Surrounded by mountains and rivers, Yinchuan is oftern said to be a land of treasure. The Helan Mountain region in the northwest is rich in coal and non-metal resources; the Yellow River in the southeastern area provides plentiful energy and water resources, which makes Yinchuan Plain the first oasis in the Hetao area of the Yellow River valley. All the surrounded superior farming conditions and abundant water resources, give Yinchuan big room to develop.

　
Mount the century 50 age Yinchuan city

　　The city of Yinchuan is famous in China for its three features: southern-type land of abundance, ancient capital of the Western Xia Dynasty, and typical Hui style. It has a convenient transportation network, including highways that radiate in all directions and railways that can extend to Gansu, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, and other provinces. You can call to 195 countries and regions directly in Yinchuan, where the telephone penetration rate has reached











　　The colorful natural environment and ancient history endows Yinchuan the abundant tourism resources. There are more than 60 historical interests and natural scenic spots in Yinchuan, among which the state level scenic spot Western Xia Mausoleum and Mount Helan Cliff Paints chiseled in ancient times specially, attract the eyes of tourists and scholars from home and abroad; the Western Film Studio established by the famous writer Zhang Xianliang, owing to the shoot of the famous film “Red Sorghum” and so on, makes Chinese film march forward to the world from here.



Datuanjie Square



 　　The city is exceptionally clean and tidy. Many new structures reveal a certain modernism. The streets are lined with small shops and boutiques, giving a very up-market, fashionable and warm appearance. These include bakeries, bridal shops and franchised stores selling the latest fashions. In the new city, the streets are flat and broad, on which red-colored taxis running to and fro. Along the roads, new buildings are rising one after another. There are red banners everywhere as business advertisement. The country’s “western region development drive” reverberates deeply through the entire city, giving rise to a new youth and dynamism.