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In late summer and early autumn, a few friend of mine and I paid a visit to the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region which is like a beautiful potted landscape by the Yellow River.
Big Granary at the Foot of Helan Mountains
As soon as we left Hedong Airport in Yinchuan, the capital city of Ningxia, we were surprised to see such beautiful rural scenery in front of us--endless farmland, crisscrossing paths, and numerous ditches with running water.  Replica ancient chariots
displayed in the Zhenbeiqu Film Center. |
It was right in the middle of the harvest season and crops with golden and heavy ears were ready for harvesting. It was going to be another bumper harvest. Later I was told that the local people have benefited greatly from the water conservation projects that divert water from the Yellow River for irrigation.
People usually say that the Yellow River, with heaven's assistance, makes people in Ningxia more prosperous than in say other area of China. The reason for this is undoubtedly the water conservation projects diverting water from the Yellow River that began in the Qin and Han dynasties (221 B.C.-A.D.220).
Shahu Lake located 56 kilometers north of Yinchuan is the most attractive scenic sport in the region, and it was the first stopover during our journey. The natural scenery by the lake is so boundless that it seems to be directly linked to the magnificent Helan Mountains in the west and the rolling hills in the southern edge of the Tengger Desert in the south. The magnificence of the desert and the mountains and the charm of the lake with its blue water, enhance each other's beauty. The luxurious reeds sway in the breeze and attract groups of birds to build comfortable nests.
Experiencing the Wildness
 Inside the Huaxia Western
Film and TV City |
The day after our arrival in Yinchuan, we drove deep into the Helan Mountains in order to see the rock carvings. As we got just out of Yinchuan City, we began to experience the tense atmosphere of the wildness. The highway we went on reached straight ahead and seemed to lead to the end of the earth. On the side was the rolling loess Helan ranges and the other was boundless wasteland of sand and rocks. We did not see any cars or travelers along the way and only the autumn wind encouraged us to continue on. Actually, experiencing the loneliness and wild outdoors is just what urban travelers relish.
We stopped at Zhenbeipu, known as Film and TV City, and were amazed at the loess castle with loess inns, shops and performing stages. All these architectural buildings reflect the strong flavor of the loess plateau and the local wisdom of enriching their cultural activities. An ideology that has made them the representative of China's Western films.
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