hkskyline's 2025 in YINCHUAN, China

[hkskyline]

Yinchuan was once the capital of the Western Xia dynasty, an empire ruled by the Tangut tribe from the 11th-13th century. After being obliterated by the Mongols, the area came under Chinese rule and became part of the Silk Road route.

Today, Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia Autonomous Region in northwest China. It is a well-planned city with grid blocks, wide avenues, surprisingly few traffic jams, and a lot of greenery. Life is quite laid back here, and locals are incredibly friendly. this is a fairly empty part of the country so I quite enjoyed leaving the hustle and bustle behind. The core tourism draw here are natural attractions and historic remains from the Western Xia.































Eating in a proper restaurant setting is also quite cheap, with local cuisine bearing strong spicy and oily tones, and this applies even to vegetable dishes, although leafy greens are rare. The only major exception was the sliced lamb.









Yinchuan itself doesn't have that many interesting attractions. Within the city, there are malls but they were fairly empty. Even this photogenic bookstore wasn't particularly busy, although this concept has been executed in a number of Asian cities already.







For more photos, visit my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/silkroad.htm

[hkskyline]

Yinchuan was once the capital of the Western (Xi) Xia dynasty, an empire ruled by the Tangut tribe from the 11th-13th century. Don't confuse that with China's Xia Dynasty, as the Tangut had named their kingdom after the original Xia.

The Western Xia modeled their government after the Chinese Song Dynasty, although they used a different, more complicated writing system.

The empire had 12 emperors and 9 mausoleum titles, with the last 3 emperors not earning any title. The assumption is they died during the empire's decline and mausoleums weren't built for them.

The first leader buried here was Li Jiqian in 1004 at the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains. The Western Xia dynasty was founded in 1038 and the royal tombs became imperial mausoleums.

Genghis Khan and his Mongol army invaded and destroyed the Western Xia in 1227, inflicting major damage to the mausoleum and it stayed abandoned for the next 700 years. Surveys of the area were carried out in 1972, triggering archaeological excavations that would last into the subsequent decades.



















For more photos, visit my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/silkroad.htm

[muppet]

Interesting, Islamic China and not Xinjiang. The food I've heard is amazing

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by muppet

Interesting, Islamic China and not Xinjiang. The food I've heard is amazing

Too spicy and oily for my liking though! There is also decent Muslim food in Xian, where there has been a sizeable community since the Silk Road days.

[hkskyline]

The mausoleum site is vast and relatively empty so there wasn't that much to see. However, I recommend heading to the 2-storey museum afterwards to check out the dynasty's history. The museum is located on the east side of the site and opened in 2019 after a relocation.

The Western Xia imitated its government system on the Song Dynasty but had its own distinct characteristics as well.





The Tangut script was invented by an official in 1036, just 2 years before Western Xia was established. There are over 6000 characters in total, which look similar to Chinese but are distinctly different.











While the Tangut worshipped nature and also believed in sorcery, Buddhism was promoted during this time as well with many temples and pagodas built.





Along the Silk Road corridor, there are caves with beautiful Buddhist paintings, and this museum has re-created a few scenes here.









Agriculture was the main industry with tools and techniques from the Central Plains used, supported by water conservation works. They traded with the Song for tea, grain, silk, cloth, and copper.



















Western Xia had rich salt resources and it was exported to China.













For more photos, visit my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/silkroad.htm

[hkskyline]

Set far out from the city centre close to the airport, MOCA is an architectural masterpiece that fits the contemporary art exhibitions inside. However, I don't understand why they built it so far away in the middle of nowhere. No trains or buses serve it, so you have to call a Didi and hope there is one nearby when you leave.





































For more photos, visit my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/silkroad.htm