Outside Yinchuan, a few interesting spots can comfortably be visited as day trips. The best of these are the Xixia Wangling (Mausoleums of the Western Xia) about 20km west of the new city. Dotted around on the plain at the foot of the eastern slopes of the Helan Shan, these giant earth tumuli stand as monuments to the kings of the Western Xia, whose kingdom was based at Yinchuan from 1038 to 1227 and saw the reign of twelve kings. Today the site is spectacular and atmospheric, with towering piles of brown earth, slowly and silently disintegrating, punctuating the view for miles around. The cheapest way to reach the site is to take bus #17, which goes right through both Laocheng and Xincheng. Ride to the end stop and take a taxi or motor-rickshaw for the last 10km - a return trip from the bus stop to the mausoleums should cost ¥30-50.

The Helan Shan also have other sites of interest. The Gunzhong Pass , about 25km west of Xincheng, is a pleasant summer-resort area, with attractive, historic buildings and plenty of opportunities for hiking around the hills and admiring the views. Six or seven kilometres north of here are the Baisikou Shuang Ta , a couple of twelve-metre-high pagodas guarding another pass, a few more kilometres to the east of which is the village of Zhenbeibu , where the film Red Sorghum, directed by Zhang Yimou, was shot. The film depicts village life in northwest China during the period leading up to World War II - in part a rural idyll, in part a brute struggle to survive. The scenes of dry, dusty hillsides alternating with the lush fields of sorghum are a fair record of how Ningxia still looks today. A tour of these three places in the Helan Mountains costs around ¥180-200 in a hire car or small minivan which you can pick up in the street, or rent from a travel agent (see "Listings").

Farther away from town, about 57km north of Yinchuan, is the beautiful Sha Hu (Sand Lake). This is a developing summer resort par excellence, with swimming, sand-dunes, rafting and beautiful scenery. As yet few Western tourists have visited this place, though it is an easy ninety-minute minibus ride from Nanmen; accommodation is available at Sha Hu.

Finally, about 80km south of Yinchuan, are the 108 Dagobas . These dagobas - Buddhist stupas of the type found in Tibetan monasteries - stand in a strange triangular pattern on a slope on the west bank of the Yellow River in Qingtongxia County. The white, bell-shaped dagobas are arranged in twelve rows, tapering from nineteen in the bottom row to a single one at the top. They are thought to have been put there in the fourteenth century during the Yuan dynasty, though their exact meaning is not known. To visit the dagobas, catch the 7.30am slow train to Qingtongxia from Yinchuan; it takes a couple of hours. From Qingtongxia you can catch a motor-rickshaw to the dagobas for about ¥30, or hike. Check the time of the one returning train from Qingtongxia to Yinchuan that passes through in early evening.