One of the cradles of the Chinese Culture, also the largest region gathering with the Hui nationality; one of the historical and cultural cities in China; a place featured with the ancient Huanghe Culture, distinctive Islam Culture, unique Western Xia Culture, and frontier fortress culture

Locations: situated between north latitude 38 08' - 38 52', east longitude 105 49' - 106 35'; in the Yinchuan Plain; the middle beaches of the Yellow River, between the Helanshan Range and the Eerduosi Plateau; bounded by Helanshan Range to the west; bordering on the Yellow River in the east

Neighboring Areas: Shaanxi and Gansu provinces; Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Physical features: plain terrain; with average altitude of 1100 - 1200 meters above the sea level

Population: 95,3800
Urban population: 59,3800
Area: 3499 sq km

Nationalities: Hui, Han and Manchu

History: a history of 1500 years; in 1038, used to be the capital of the Western Xia dynasty called "Xingchuan"; known as "the lush southern-type fields beyond the Great Wall" since the Northern Zhou dynasty; also known as "the phoenix city "; renamed "Yinchuan" in 1944

Climatic Features: temperate continental climate; semi-arid without cold winter and hot summer; 4 distinct seasons, cool south and warm north with great difference in temperature; humid south and arid north; rich sunshine with annual average of 2898-3040 hours decreasing from the south to north; windy and sandy with short and changeable frost-free period of 140-162 days and relative humidity of 50 -65 percent

Average Temperature: annual average of 8.3 C - 8.6 C; daily difference in temperature of 12 C - 15 C;
Rainfall: annual average of 193-203 mm, decreasing from the south to north; rainfall from June to September accounting for 50 to 73 percent of the total

Mountains: Helanshan Range

Rivers: the Yellow River, Shahu Lake, Jianhu Lake

Local Highlights:
Traditional handicraft: flannelette blanket, Helan stone carving; wine, licorice, sheepskin