Yinchuan (, ; ) is the capital of the
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
, and was the capital of the
Tangut-led
Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the
2020 Chinese census
The Seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (), also referred to as the 2020 Chinese Census, was the seventh national census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. Census w ...
, and its built-up area was home to 1,901,793 inhabitants spread between three urban districts. The city's name literally means "silver river".
Yinchuan is now the permanent site for the China-Arab Expo, a platform for cultural and economic exchanges between China and
Arab countries.
The city is also home to
Ningxia University, the largest regional comprehensive university under the
Project 211 in
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
History
Yinchuan was originally a county under the name of ''Fuping'' in the 1st century BCE; its name was changed to ''Huaiyuan'' in the 6th century CE.
Western Xia
After the fall of the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
in 907, it came under the control of the
Tangut-led
Western Xia dynasty and was made the capital of the empire, provoking much of the native
Han population to emigrate.
Mongol conquest
After conquering Western Xia in 1227, the
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
mercilessly pillaged Yinchuan and slaughtered its entire population. The Mongols called the city Iryai.
Ming and Qing dynasties
Under the
Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...
(1368–1644) and
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
(1644–1911) dynasties, it was a
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
of
Ningxia. During the
Dungan revolt, Dungan forces massacred 100,000 people in Yinchuan.
20th century
In 1928, when the province of Ningxia was formed from part of
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibe ...
, 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
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
, near
Shizuishan
Shizuishan, formerly Shizuizi, is a prefecture-level city in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is the northernmost prefecture in Ningxia and the second most populous, after the regional capital Yinchuan, bo ...
, to the north, have made Shizuishan a coal-mining center.
Yinchuan, however, remains largely non-industrial. The immediate plains area, intensively irrigated by a system developed as long ago as the
Han (206 BC–AD 220) and
Tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) ...
(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.
Geography
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 Mountains 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 Mountains.
Climate
Yinchuan has a cold
desert climate
The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in deser ...
(
Köppen ''BWk'') with an annual rainfall of . Yinchuan has distinct seasons, with dry, cold winters, late springs and short summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July, with the annual mean at . Diurnal temperature variation tends to be large due to the aridity, which also partly contributes to the sunny climate; with monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 63 percent in three months to 71 percent in November, the city receives 2,906 hours of bright sunshine annually. There are 158 frost-free days.
Administrative divisions
Demographics
Ethnic groups
As of 2019, 72.43% of the city's population is
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...
, 25.79% is
Hui, and 1.78% are other
ethnic minorities.
Of the city's six
county-level divisions, all have a super-majority of Han Chinese people sans the
county-level city
A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...
of
Lingwu
Lingwu (, Xiao'erjing: لِئٍوُ شِ) is a county-level city of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Southwest China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yinchuan. It is the most important industrial city of Ningxia. ...
, which is majority Hui.
Urbanization
Of the city's population, 79.05% live in urban areas as of 2019.
This proportion is highest in
Xixia District
Xixia District (, Xiao'erjing: ثِثِيَا ٿِيُوِ) is one of three urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Northwest China, bordering Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, o ...
, where 91.28% of the population lives in urban areas, and is lowest in
Lingwu
Lingwu (, Xiao'erjing: لِئٍوُ شِ) is a county-level city of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Southwest China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yinchuan. It is the most important industrial city of Ningxia. ...
, where 58.22% of the population lives in urban areas.
Economy
The city's gross domestic product per capita was ¥31,436 (US$4,526) in 2008, ranking 197th of 659 Chinese cities. In 2010, Yinchuan was designated as the site for the
China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. At the national level, Yinchuan hosts various events such as the China-Arab States Expo, to function as a commercial link between China and Arab States.
Yinchuan classifies itself as a '
smart city', where modern technology is employed such as facial recognition for public transport payments, connected trash bins and digital citizen service centres.
Transportation
* It is served by
Yinchuan Hedong International Airport. It is from Yinchuan and has flights to Beijing, Chengdu, Dunhuang, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xian, and Zhengzhou.
* It is served by a river port at
Hengcheng, about to the east. Until the 1950s the river, which is navigable downstream as far as
Baotou
Baotou (; mn, Buɣutu qota, Бугат хот) is the largest city by urban population in Inner Mongolia, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, as of the 2020 census, its built-up (''or metro'') area made up of its 5 urban districts is ...
in the
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
n 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
Lanzhou (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. H ...
in Gansu province to the southwest, to
Wuwei in Gansu to the west, and to
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...
in Shaanxi province to the southeast.
* Since 1958 the city has been served by
Yinchuan railway station on the
Baotou–Lanzhou railway and is thus linked to other parts of China by rail. The
Taiyuan–Zhongwei–Yinchuan railway
The Taiyuan–Zhongwei–Yinchuan railway () is a railway line in northern China, connecting Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, with Zhongwei and Yinchuan in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. It is a double-track electric railway, opened in 201 ...
opened in 2011.
*
China National Highway 211
*
G69 Yinchuan–Baise Expressway
* Yinchuan is the first Chinese city to implement a monorail beyond demonstrational use, transporting visitors around the Yinchuan International Flower Expo park.
Culture
Although most residents are Han Chinese, Yinchuan is a center for the Muslim
Hui people
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the ...
, who constitute slightly over a quarter of the population.
Tourism
The city's attractions include the Sand-lake, the
Western Xia tombs, and the China Western film Studios.
Sand Lake is a lake in a desert 35 miles north of Yinchuan with birds, reeds, lotus and fish.
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.
China West Film Studio, which has been famed as 'One Superb in China, and Treasure of Ningxia Province', is at the eastern foot of the magnificent Helanshan Mountain, 25 kilometers from the railway station of Yinchuan City, and 48 kilometers from Hedong Airport. It produced
The Herdsman,
Red Sorghum,
Lover's Grief over the Yellow River,
New Dragon Gate Inn,
Ashes of Time,
A Chinese Odyssey,
Qiao's Grand Courtyard (TV series)
''Qiao's Grand Courtyard'' is a 2006 Chinese historical drama television series. The series is set during the late Qing Dynasty and chronicles the life of Shanxi financier, businessman and philanthropist Qiao Zhiyong (1818―1907), with artistic ...
and nearly one hundred other films.
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.
Parts of the Great Wall are near the city.
Since 2000, Yinchuan has hosted the annual Yinchuan International Car and Motorcycle Tourism Festival, which usually occurs in August.
Colleges and universities
*
Ningxia University
*
Ningxia Medical University
See also
*
List of twin towns and sister cities in China
References
External links
Yinchuan Government websiteWeather forecast for Yinchuan in Ningxia (China), 1117 mThe Yinchuan World Rock Art MuseumChina West Film StudioWebsite specifically about Yinchuan in English
{{Authority control
Prefecture-level divisions of Ningxia
Provincial capitals in China