Ningxia

Day 1 First Encounter with Yinchuan
👉 Super 8 Hotel (Yinchuan Tanglai Branch)
📍 Address: No. 31 Yu'an Alley, Shangjing Shijia
💎 Pros: Excellent location! Within walking distance to Ningxia Museum, Wanda Plaza, and the famous Guoqiang Hand-grabbed Meat. The rooms are spacious, suitable for three people traveling together, but the facilities are old, which is quite a drawback.
🏛️ Ningxia Museum
📍 Address: No. 6 East Renmin Square Street
🕘 Opening Hours: Off-season 9:00-17:00, Peak season 8:30-18:00 (Closed on Mondays)
✨ Tips: Don’t miss the museum’s treasure "Gilded Bronze Ox"! The other two treasures are on loan to Shanghai, luckily I saw the originals in Shanghai before, so I wasn’t fooled by replicas [Chuckle]. The rock art exhibition on the first floor is also quite good; it’s necessary to learn about it before visiting Helan Mountain. We spent about three hours there. The exhibition halls are somewhat old and dim, but the surrounding development is quite nice 😌

🌄 Day 2 Exploring Western Xia Civilization
🏰 Western Xia Imperial Tombs
📍 Address: Inside Western Xia Tombs Scenic Area
🕗 Opening Hours: Summer 8:00-20:00, Winter 8:00-19:00
📸 Photo Tips: Just avoid holidays! We went right after the National Day holiday. During holidays, visitor numbers are controlled at around 40,000 per day, but when we visited, there were fewer than 200 people, which made for a very different travel experience—imagine that yourself [Askance]. The nine tombs are quite similar; after getting familiar with the museum inside the tomb area, we only visited the largest No. 3 tomb, spending about 4 hours in total.

🖌️ Helan Mountain Rock Art + Han Meilin Art Museum
📍 Address: East foothills of Helan Mountain, Helan County
🕘 Opening Hours: Rock Art 8:00-18:30, Art Museum 9:00-17:30
💡 Hidden Tip: Remember to climb up to see the famous "Sun God" rock painting clearly, unless you have professional photography equipment. Other rock paintings are quite blurry and can be seen from the plank road without climbing. The scenic area is not very large; one hour is enough. The Han Meilin Art Museum is quite good and worth spending some extra time appreciating.

🏨 Day 3 Guyuan Cultural Journey
🌃 Stay: Guyuan Shangxi Hotel
🏺 Guyuan Museum
✨ Highlights: Important relics from the Silk Road are all here! A must-visit for museum enthusiasts and a great choice to deeply understand Guyuan’s history. You can finish in two hours, and there are very few people, basically a private tour [Grin].

🕌 Day 4 Grotto Exploration
🏛️ Xumishan Museum
🕍 Xumishan Grottoes
💎 Must-see: Tang Dynasty Giant Buddha Grotto, absolutely stunning! Note, the scenic area’s shuttle only takes you to see the Buddha’s chin; to see the full view, you need to hike, but the hiking route is a bit challenging and not suitable for those with mobility issues. The other caves are small, dark, and heavily weathered, so don’t expect much [Facepalm].

🕋 Day 5 Religious Architecture Tour
⛩️ Tongxin Great Mosque
🛕 Gaomiao Bao’an Temple
📸 Hidden Theme: The Western Expedition Museum next to the Great Mosque was an unexpected find, very thoughtfully curated, completely refreshing my understanding of Tongxin [Tiptop]. Gaomiao is small and can be done in half an hour. Not far from there is the square in front of the train station, bustling with lively street life, very vibrant. The small town has its own charm, so peaceful! [GoodJob]

🔥 Must-Visit Top Attractions:
1️⃣ Western Xia Imperial Tombs: Unlock the secrets of a World Cultural Heritage site
2️⃣ Ningxia Museum: Quickly learn about Ningxia’s history
3️⃣ Helan Mountain Rock Art: Get up close to millennia-old primitive art
4️⃣ Xumishan Grottoes: Check in at one of China’s top ten grottoes

💡 Travel Tips:
✅ Large temperature difference between day and night in the Northwest, suitable for onion-style dressing
✅ Attractions are far apart, renting a car is recommended for travel