In the early days of the Silk Road, Ningxia was the center of the mysterious empire known in China as the Western Xia Dynasty. The region lies in the northwest of today’s China between the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and the mountains and deserts of Gansu. Far from the beaten track, and seldom explored by tourists, it possesses the beauty of both. 

The Ningxia Hui Region is perhaps best known for its eerie imperial Xia tombs rising as pyramids from the grasslands to the west of Yinchuan city in a wide section of the Yellow River valley that has been inhabited and farmed for many thousands of years.. The area also features what is probably the best-preserved section of one of the oldest sections of the Great Wall, some of which date from more than 1,000 years old.  

This is the land of “five treasures” - nutritious gouqi berries, wild licorice root, fine sheepskin and lambskin, stone carvings and ink stones from the Helan Mountains and forbidden black moss or facai. This gourmet algae’s name sounds like “get rich” in Chinese.  

Ningxia is the place where the pastoral people of northern Asia and the Chinese world met. It is called the Ningxia Hui region after the Muslim Hui people who comprise around one third of its 5.9 million people. 

Founded by the Tangut people, herders from what is now Qinghai Province, migrated north under pressure from Tibet’s rulers. Twenty-five kilometers west of Yinchuan (also called Phoenix City), Ningxia’s capital, lie the tombs of the Western Xia emperors.   

“Egypt has the pyramids of the west, Ningxia has the pyramids of the east,” enthused a taxi driver on the way. This is an exaggeration but the Western Xia Imperial Tombs certainly are an eerie and intriguing sight. Rising 20 meters from the desert beneath the towering stark Helan Mountains, the round and octagonal tombs suggest the majesty of the Western Xia emperors.

Almost nothing is known about their culture. Their mausoleums were surrounded by elaborate gardens and fortified with walls and watchtowers that stand today. Beneath the tombs lie underground palaces one can only dream of exploring. The on-site museum presents a fascinating collection of Western Xia finery, much of it excavated from the tombs.  

Most striking are several of the Xixia’s (Western Xia’s) signature stone pedestals, large square blocks with glowering square faces carved in a style somewhat like that of the Aztecs. Ten tombs have been excavated, though only one is open to tourists at this time. Others can be admired at a distance.  

The civilization, founded by the now-lost Tangut people, itself vanished in the early 13^th century. Some of the Xia art is exquisite. A statue with the face of a man and body of a graceful bird has been compared to sophisticated ancient Egyptian art. 

Decidedly less ancient but nonetheless historic is central Yinchuan’s Nan Guan Mosque. That’s not to say the capital’s largest mosque has never been ancient - the original mosque was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) but razed during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).  

The 1981 structure that stands today is a curious fusion of traditional Islamic and more modern architecture with graceful Arabian-style arches and a façade of plain rectangular 1980s apartment block tiles. The main prayer hall is lavishly adorned with Arabic calligraphy and furnishings and houses as many as 1,000 worshippers. 

The central dome rises 25 meters above the city, a resplendent emerald green. Most enchanting is a tiny Muslim products shop inside the mosque walls. Facing the courtyard fountain, it’s crammed full of gorgeous handmade wares from such faraway places as Pakistan and Russia. 

Yinchuan, like so many Chinese cities, is bursting out in all directions. The hi-tech western half is all about high-rise apartment blocks, construction sites and industrial parks. But the eastern half - the old city - is a treasure trove of grand traditional buildings and historic sites. And, most pleasing, it’s small enough to be explored on foot.  

Shopping in Yinchuan is a pleasure, but you may well find yourself spoiled for choice. Venture past the obligatory pedestrian plaza and into the surrounding lanes to find bountiful unique boutiques to gratify those retail therapy cravings.

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