Yinchuan also known as "Pheonix City" in the legendary story is located in the middle of Yinchuan Plain of Yinchuan Hui Autonomous Region with Mount Helan in the west and the Yellow River in the east. Baolan (Baotou-Lanzhou) Railway runs through it. The city has such industries as machinery, electrical power, metre, chemicals, woollen textiles. Prime tourist attractions include Heavenly Succession Temple (also known as Western Pagoda), Jade Emperor Pagoda (also called Northern Pagoda) and the Great Mosque.

The First Expressway in Yinchuan

The Yaofu- Yesheng section of the Shizuishan-Zhongning expressway, the first in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, opened to traffic on June 30, 2000. Costing 1.54 billion yuan (US$ 185 million), the 83-kilometre-Iong section of the expressway was completed 22 months ahead of schedule. The total length of the expressway is 253 kilometres long.

The Nanguan Mosque

Located in the southeast corner of the old city of Yinchuan, and constructed at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Nanguan (Southern Pass) Mosque used to be of magnificent scale. The present one, rebuilt in the period 1980 to 1981, covers an area of 2,074 square metres. It is conspicuously Islam in architectural style and has distinctive national features. The mosque is made up of upper and lower levels and its plump, green domes reach a height of 22 metres. The Great Prayer Hall in the upper level can accommodate up to 1 , 000 prayers. The lower level contains bathing houses, a secondary prayer hall and residences for the imams.

Haibao (Sea Treasure) Pagoda

The year for the construction of the pagoda is unknown. Legend has it that it was rebuilt in the 5 th century He Lian Bobo (the ruler of Xia Kingdom, 407-427). The pagoda was destroyed by an earthquake in 1778 and revamped again. The pagoda has eleven storeys, towering 53.9 metres. It is made of brick and is square in shape. The niches in every storey slightly protrude and consequently many edges are formed, giving the tower the look of the Chinese characteristics . Its style is unique among the thousands of pagodas in China. Its rooms are also square. The gates face east and four arches lead to the four sides. There is a wooden ladder by which the visitor can climb to the ninth storey of the pagoda and will be rewarded with a wonderful view over the wooded countryside.

The Western Xia Mausoleum

Located on the eastern slope of Helan Mountain, 30 kilometres in the western suburbs of Yinchuan, the mausoleum contains the tombs of emperors of the Western Xia (1038-1227). It is ten kilometres long from south to north and four kilometres from east to west. Eight imperial tombs and over seventy annex tombs (of a wife, concubine or slave be buried alive with the dead by the side of her husband's tomb) are scattered throughout the area. Every tumulus is a building complex, and their design is similar. Each tumulus encompasses more than 100,000 square metres. They all have watchtowers, stone arches , stele pavilions , outer cities , inner cities , offering hall and pagoda-like platform (on which a coffin or a cinerary casket is placed). Only one of the tumuli and four annex tombs have been exhumed so far.