Nine mounds on the dry fan
Nine imperial mounds, 271 lesser tombs and a set of flood works mark a Tangut court on the Helan foothills above Yinchuan.
Yinchuan.
Yinchuan sits between the Helan Mountains and the Yellow River, the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The Xixia imperial tombs and the rock art at Helankou lie in its foothills; the old south gate, the Tang-Lai canal and the film forts at Zhenbeibu keep other layers of the city in view.
Stories
Faces in the rock at the pass
At Helankou in Helan County, thousands of pecked faces, animals and work scenes cover the gorge walls beside two museums.
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Forts that became a film set
In 1993 Zhang Xianliang turned two Ming and Qing fortress compounds at the Helan foot into a film city, with a moon gate, a herdsman set and Baihua Hall.
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The canal that still divides the river
Tang-Lai still takes Yellow River water at Qingtongxia and carries it through Yinchuan, beside lakes, drains and a river reach of 83.8 kilometres.
ReadOne congregation, two buildings
Nanguan Mosque moved inside the south gate in 1915, lost its timber hall in the Cultural Revolution, and raised a green-domed hall in 1981.
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Three layers on the east bank
At Shuidonggou in Linhe, Lingwu, a 1923 excavation, a stone-tool museum and a Ming wall share one terrace on the edge of the Ordos.
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Yinchuan
Xixia Imperial Tombs
Nine imperial mounds, 271 lesser tombs and a set of flood works mark a Tangut court on the Helan foothills above Yinchuan.
Yinchuan
Helankou Rock Art
At Helankou in Helan County, thousands of pecked faces, animals and work scenes cover the gorge walls beside two museums.
Yinchuan
Zhenbeibu Western Film City
In 1993 Zhang Xianliang turned two Ming and Qing fortress compounds at the Helan foot into a film city, with a moon gate, a herdsman set and Baihua Hall.
Yinchuan
Tang-Lai Canal and the Yinchuan Yellow River Reach
Tang-Lai still takes Yellow River water at Qingtongxia and carries it through Yinchuan, beside lakes, drains and a river reach of 83.8 kilometres.
Yinchuan
Nanguan Mosque
Nanguan Mosque moved inside the south gate in 1915, lost its timber hall in the Cultural Revolution, and raised a green-domed hall in 1981.
Yinchuan
Shuidonggou Site
At Shuidonggou in Linhe, Lingwu, a 1923 excavation, a stone-tool museum and a Ming wall share one terrace on the edge of the Ordos.
Photo credits and rights
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A large earthen tomb mound rises behind a low brick retaining wall, with dry grass, gravel and the pale ridges of the Helan Mountains under a blue sky.Yinchuan Municipal People's Government · Rights information Photo source ↗