Ningxia

• - capital of the region
• - resting place of a Maitreya Buddha which is 62 ft high
• - home of the 108 Dagobas
• - Helan Shan and Shahu Lake
• - trapped between the desert and the Yellow River
• - center of chinese Muslims, Chinese Hui Cultural Park
• Tongxin - one of oldest mosque, Ming dynasty

• - Tombs from the lost Western Xia kingdom

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, established in 1958, is bordered by Inner Mongolia to the north and west, Shaanxi to the east and Gansu to the south. The region is mostly mountains and plains with little truly fertile land. Chinese Moslems, called the Hui, make up 1/3 of the population of the region.
Around 1000 AD, the Tangut kingdom of Western Xia was centered in Ningxia, and often in conflict with the Song, Liao, and Jin dynasties. In 189 years the throne changed hands ten times. Eventually it was overrun by the Mongols and absorbed into the Chinese empire of its day. Marco Polo visited it at around that time.

Yinchuan Hedong International Airport (INC)

The Great Wall of China within Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has the following wall sections:

• The Eastern Ningxia Wall - Hongshan Castle and Water Cave Gully (Shui Dong Gou)
• The Northern Ningxia Wall - in the area of Helan Shan
• The Western Ningxia Wall - Zhenbeibu and Sanguankou

One of the better cups of tea offered in this region is the "eight treasures tea" (八宝茶). It yields (not surprisingly) eight ingredients. Sugar lumps, wolfberries, tea leaves.