Ningxia, a region of fascinating physical, human and historic diversity
Beyond the northern edge of the city and bordering on sand dunes is a small oasis, Shahu or “Sand Lake”, apparently formed when an irrigation canal seeped into the desert. Access across the waters was by fast speedboats zipping through clumpy reed marshes, home to around 200 different bird species, followed by open water to the foot of the dunes. While camels or a chairlift could carry visitors uphill I preferred walking to experience how tough climbing sand could be. From the top I looked across a landscape of rolling dunes, the desert. With many sand-related activities for visitors, holding on tightly, I tried dune sledging!
From the sand lake a road heads across a gravelly plain toward the majestic Helan Mountains that shelters Yinchuan from the the Tengger Desert. The mountains produce the “Fifth Treasure of Ningxia”, stone for China’s finest ink blocks - an essential element in calligraphy.
The aridity restricting human activity away from the Yellow River has helped preserve unique reminders of regional antiquity. Along the base of the mountains lies the weathered remains of pyramids, the Western Xia Mausoleum (xixia wang ling). Tombs from the kingdom of the Western Xia based around the Yinchuan area from 1038 to 1227. Referred to as “A Mythical Kingdom on the Silk Road” it succumbed to Genghis Khan’s military advances leaving little trace except the tombs along with the name Ningxia or “Peaceful Xia”. The site bears a resemblance to Egyptian pyramids, not in size but in mysteries and hints of long-gone civilizations. Covering around 40 square kilometers the mounds, some crumbling, but varying in size appeared partly surrounded by mud wall fortifications.
