Yinchuan 银川 ىٍ ﭼُﻮًا‎
—  Prefecture-level city  —
银川市
The territory of Yinchuan prefecture-level city (yellow) within Ningxia
Satellite image of Yinchuan
Yinchuan Location in China
Coordinates: 38°28′N 106°16′E / 38.467°N 106.267°E / 38.467; 106.267Coordinates: 38°28′N 106°16′E / 38.467°N 106.267°E / 38.467; 106.267
Country	People's Republic of China
Region	Ningxia
County-level divisions
Township divisions
Government
• CPC Yinchuan
• Mayor	Wang Rugui[1]
Area
• Prefecture-level city	4,467 km2 (1,725 sq mi)
• Urban	2,045 km2 (790 sq mi)
• Metro	2,045 km2 (790 sq mi)
Elevation	1,100 m (3,608 ft)
Population (2010 census)[2]
• Prefecture-level city	1,993,088
• Urban	1,290,170
• Urban density	Bad rounding here630/km2 (Bad rounding here1,600/sq mi)
• Metro	1,290,170
• Metro density	Bad rounding here630/km2 (Bad rounding here1,600/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	750000
Area code(s)	0951
License plate prefixes	宁A
Website	www.yinchuan.gov.cn (Chinese)

Yínchuān is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, and former capital of the Western Xia Empire of the Tanguts. It has an area of 4,467 km (2,776 mi) and a total population of 1.99 million. Its built up area is home to 1,290,170 inhabitants spread on 3 urban districts. The name of the city literally means "silver river"; the character for "river" (川) is the same as that in Sichuan, but not as those in, for example, the Yellow River (黄河) or Yangtze River (长江).

History [edit]

Yinchuan originally was a xian (county) under the name of Fuping in the 1st century BC; its name was changed to Huaiyuan in the 6th century AD. After the fall of the Tang dynasty in 907, it was occupied by the Tangut Xi-Xia dynasty, of which it was the capital. After the destruction of the Xi-Xia dynasty by the Mongols in 1227, it came under the rule of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. Under the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties, it was a prefecture of Ningxia. In 1928, when the province of Ningxia was formed from part of Gansu, it became the capital city. In 1954, when Ningxia province was abolished, the city was put in Gansu province; but, with the establishment of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region in 1958, Yinchuan once again became the capital.

Traditionally, Yinchuan was an administrative and commercial center. In the 1950s it had many commercial enterprises, and there were some handicrafts but no modern industry. The city has since grown considerably. Extensive coal deposits discovered on the eastern bank of the Yellow River, near Shizuishan, 100 km (62 mi) to the north, have made Shizuishan a coal-mining center.

Yinchuan, however, remains largely nonindustrial. The immediate plains area, intensively irrigated by a system developed as long ago as the Han (206 BC–AD 220) and Tang (618–907) dynasties, is extremely productive. Yinchuan is the chief agricultural market and distribution center for this area and also deals in animal products from the herds tended by nomads in the surrounding grasslands. It is a market for grain and has flour mills, as well as rice-hulling and oil-extraction plants. The wool produced in the surrounding plains supplies a woolen-textile mill. Yinchuan is a center for the Muslim (Hui) minority peoples, who constitute a third of the population. Yinchuan currently serves as a major trade route between Western cities such as Urumqi and the East.

On 23 July 1993 an airliner that was attempting its second takeoff veered off the runway, crashed into a lake, and broke apart; at least 59 of the 113 persons aboard the craft were killed.^[3]

Geography [edit]

Yinchuan lies in the middle of the Yinchuan or Ningxia Plain. It is sheltered from the deserts of Mongolia by the high ranges of the Helan Mountain to its west. The Yellow River runs through Yinchuan from southwest to northeast. The average elevation of Yinchuan is 1,100 meters (about 3,608 feet). The urban center of Yinchuan lies about halfway between the Yellow River and the edge of Helan Mountain.

Climate [edit]

Yinchuan has a desert climate (Köppen BWk) with an annual rainfall of 186 mm (7.32 in), cold and windy (but dry) winters, dust-laden springs, hot and somewhat humid summers, and rather short autumns. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −7.9 °C (17.8 °F) in January to 23.5 °C (74.3 °F) in July, with the annual mean at 9.00 °C (48.2 °F). Diurnal temperature variation tends to be large due to the aridity, which also partly contributes to the sunny climate; no month has less than 63% of possible sunshine and there are 2,906 hours of bright sunshine annually. There are 158 frost-free days.

Administrative divisions [edit]

Map	#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Xiao'erjing	Population (2010)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
	City proper
	1	Xingqing District	兴庆区	Xīngqìng Qū	دٍ ﻓْﻊ ﺛُﻮ	678,306	768	883
	2	Jinfeng District	金凤区	Jīnfèng Qū	دٍ ﻓْﻊ ﺛُﻮ	282,554	290	974
	3	Xixia District	西夏区	Xīxià Qū	ثِ ﺷﯿَا ﺛُﻮ	329,310	987	334
	Satellite cities
	4	Lingwu City	灵武市	Língwǔ Shì	لٍ ءُ شِ	261,677	4,639	56
	Rural
	5	Yongning County	永宁县	Yǒngníng Xiàn	ﻳْﻮ نٍ ﺷِﯿًﺎ	218,260	1,295	169
	6	Helan County	贺兰县	Hèlán Xiàn	حْ لً ﺷِﯿًﺎ	222,981	1,600	139

Economy [edit]

The city's gross domestic product per capita was ¥31,436 (US$4,526) in 2008, ranking 197th of 659 Chinese cities. Its main industries are the production of Chinese wolfberry, wheat, apple, and rice.^{[citation needed]}

Transportation [edit]

Yinchuan Railroad station

• Yinchuan is located near the western bank of the upper course of the Yellow River, near the western end of the Great Wall of China in the south-central section of the Helan Shan and Ordos Desert.
• It is served by Yinchuan Hedong Airport. It is 25 km (16 mi) from Yinchuan and has flights to Beijing, Chengdu, Dunhuang, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xian, and Zhengzhou.
• It is served by a river port at Hengcheng, about 15 km (9.3 mi) to the east. Until the 1950s the river, which is navigable downstream as far as Baotou in the Inner Mongolian autonomous region and upstream to Zhongwei and Zhongning, was the chief communication link.
• Highways also link the city to Baotou along the river, to Lanzhou in Gansu province to the southwest, to Wuwei in Gansu to the west, and to Xi'an in Shaanxi province to the southeast.
• Since 1958 the city has been on the railway from Lanzhou to Baotou and is thus linked to other parts of China by rail.
• China National Highway 211

Tourism [edit]

A mosque in Yinchuan

A mosque in Yinchuan, China.

Yinchun Drum Tower

The city's attractions include the Sand-lake and the Western Xia tombs. Sand Lake is 35 miles north of Yinchuan. Being a world of desert and lake, it is an ideal place for bird watching, sand slide and cableway slide. Appreciating reeds, lotus and fish are also popular. The Western Xia Imperial Tombs are 15.5 miles west of Yinchuan on east side of Mt. Helan. Since June 1972, nine imperial tombs and 253 lesser tombs have been unearthed, which are as grand as Ming Tombs in Beijing. With a total area of more than 19.3 square miles, it is unique among royal burials.

There are two pagodas in Yinchuan that are part of the 'Eight Famous Scenery of Ningxia': one is the Haibao Pagoda in the northern suburb and the other is the Chengtiansi Pagoda in the west.

Since 2000, Yinchuan has hosted the annual Yinchuan International Car and Motorcycle Tourism Festival, which usually occurs in August. It is the largest event of its kind in China; approximately 3000 motorcycles attend annually.

It is also possible to see parts of the Great Wall which are located near the city.

Colleges and universities [edit]

• Ningxia Polytechnical University
• Ningxia University
• Second Northwest Nationalities University
• Ningxia Medical Institute

The West Movie Studio in suburb of Yinchuan

See also [edit]

China portal

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yinchuan

• Yinchuan Government website
• Weather forecast for Yinchuan in Ningxia (China), 1117 m
• The Yinchuan World Rock Art Museum

v t e Ningxia topics Yinchuan (capital) General History Politics Economy Geography Cities Yellow River Tengger Desert Education Ningxia University Cuisine Chinese Islamic cuisine Visitor attractions Xixia Tombs Category     Commons

v t e Provincial capitals of the People's Republic of China Changchun (Jilin) Changsha (Hunan) Chengdu (Sichuan) Fuzhou (Fujian) Guangzhou (Guangdong) Guiyang (Guizhou) Haikou (Hainan) Hangzhou (Zhejiang) Harbin (Heilongjiang) Hefei (Anhui) Hohhot (Inner Mongolia) Jinan (Shandong) Kunming (Yunnan) Lanzhou (Gansu) Lhasa (Tibet) Nanchang (Jiangxi) Nanjing (Jiangsu) Nanning (Guangxi) Shenyang (Liaoning) Shijiazhuang (Hebei) Taiyuan (Shanxi) Ürümqi (Xinjiang) Wuhan (Hubei) Xi'an (Shaanxi) Xining (Qinghai) Yinchuan (Ningxia) Zhengzhou (Henan)

v t e Major cities along the Yellow River Province-level subdivisions Cities (from upper reaches to lower reaches) Gansu Lanzhou Baiyin Ningxia Zhongwei Wuzhong Yinchuan Shizuishan Inner Mongolia Wuhai Ordos Bayan Nur Baotou Hohhot (boundaries of upper and middle reaches) Shanxi Xinzhou Lüliang Linfen Yuncheng Shaanxi Yulin Yan'an Weinan Henan Sanmenxia Luoyang Jiyuan Jiaozuo Zhengzhou(boundaries of middle and lower reaches) Xinxiang Kaifeng Puyang Shandong Liaocheng Tai'an Jinan Dezhou Binzhou Zibo Dongying Major cities along the Yangtze River

v t e Baotou–Lanzhou Railway (← Beijing–Baotou Railway) Baotou East Baotou Baotou West Haye Hutong Baiyanhua Gongmiaozi Malashan Urat Front Banner Xixiaozhao Wuyuan Sifentan Linhe District Toudaoqiao Bayan Gol Hanggin Banner Jiangui Wuhai North Wuhai Wuhai West Huinong District Nuanquan Yinchuan Huangyangtan Daba Qingtongxia Zhongning County Huangyangwan Zhongwei Shapotou District Gantang Yingpanshui Great Wall Jingtai County Xingquanbao Hongxiantai Hongshaxian Bayin West Zhujiayao Fengshuicun Gaolan County Shaojiatang Shuiyuan Lanzhou East Lanzhou (Lanzhou–Xinjiang Railway →) Connecting Railways: Baotou–Shenmu Railway Baotou–Bayan Obo Railway Baotou Ring Railway Pingru Railway Baotou–Zhongwei Railway Gantang–Wuwei Railway Honghui Railway Longhai Railway