Yinchuan City
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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 most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, and was the capital of the Tangut-led
Western Xia dynasty The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...
. 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 in 907, it came under the control of the Tangut-led
Western Xia dynasty The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...
and was made the capital of the empire, provoking much of the native
Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
population to emigrate.


Mongol conquest

After conquering Western Xia in 1227, the Mongols mercilessly pillaged Yinchuan and slaughtered its entire population. The Mongols called the city Iryai.


Ming and Qing dynasties

Under the Ming (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-speaki ...
(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 Tibet ...
, 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, 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 Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
(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) b ...
(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 Yinchuan Plain (), also called the Yinchuan–Wuzhong Plain or Xitao Plain (西套平原) or Ningxia Plain (宁夏平原), is a plain located in the north central part of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. Since ancient times, Yinchuan Plain h ...
. 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 ( 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, 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 of Lingwu, 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, 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 h ...
in the Inner Mongolian autonomous region and upstream to Zhongwei and
Zhongning Zhongning County is a county under the administration of Zhongwei city in west-central Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the northwest. It is the point at which the northern twist of the ...
, 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 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 2 ...
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 The Western Xia mausoleums occupy an area of some at the foot of the Helan Mountains in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of northwestern China, and include nine imperial mausoleums and 250 tombs of imperial relatives and officials of China's ...
, 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 ''Lover's Grief over the Yellow River'' () is a 1999 Chinese film directed by Feng Xiaoning. It was China's official Best Foreign Language Film submission at the 72nd Academy Awards, but did not receive a nomination. Feng considers it the second ...
, 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 website

Weather forecast for Yinchuan in Ningxia (China), 1117 m

The Yinchuan World Rock Art Museum

China West Film Studio

Website specifically about Yinchuan in English
{{Authority control Prefecture-level divisions of Ningxia Provincial capitals in China