Yinchuan Travel Guide

Located 7 hours by train north of Lanzhou, Yinchaun is a relaxed town & a good place to stop off on the way to Inner Mongolia. With a Population of an estimated 1,000,000 million people the city has all that you could want yet with a small town feel.

Divided into Old & New cities Yinchuan sits along side the Yellow river & the Helan mountains. Most travellers tend to pass it by writing it off a merely another example of a modern Chinese city but Yinchuan has more too offer if you are willing to linger a few days.

Accomodation is varied but your best option is to base yourself in the new city near the train station. Several hotels offer cheap deals & you can pick up a twin en suite for a little as 60Y per night. The new city has few attractions but a bus from the train station for 1Y( bus number 1) can get you into the old city in 20 minutes. Most life in the old town centres around the main pedestrian street opposite the Drum tower( the bus will drop you here). A short walk from here & there are any number of cheap places to eat as well as too pick up some shopping.

About 60kms from the new city is the village of Gunzhongzou & beyond this a gorge famed for its ancient rock carvings. Dating back 10,000 years the images depict hunting scenes, detailed faces &, to some, an image of an Alien! The gorge is a great place to get away for a while & is an excellent place for day walks. No public transport runs to the village or gorge but you can get a taxi(200Y) from the train station with little hassel.