The autonomous region along the Yellow River is an oasis surrounded by a vast encroaching desert. About 800 years ago it was also the site of the legendary vassal state, the Western Xia Kingdom, which was finally conquered by Genghis Khan.

Shapotou

Shapotou, about 10 kilometres west of Zhongwei County and three hours drive from Yinchuan, seems to be the best-known tourist resort in Ningxia because of its unique landscape and its great success in halting the shifting sand.

Located on the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert, the fourth largest in China, its huge sand dunes overlook the Yellow River.

Looking down from the top of the 80-metre high steep dunes was a little scary, but after we slid down the slope on a board, many of us just couldn't get enough of it, although, of course, nothing was going to be as thrilling as the first try.

If several people try together, an echoing boom of excitement can be produced.

Flying from the dune top to the other side of the Yellow River hanging onto a cable should be even more breathtaking. But when we arrived, that game had been suspended due to the strong wind. There is also a weight limit excluding people who are either too heavy or too light for the game.

For the energetic, desert jeep "surfing??driving up and down the steep dunes ?and camel riding are also fun activities in the desert.

North of the sand dunes was the Baotou-Lanzhou railway winding through green land reclaimed from the desert over the last half century.

Gardens and trees could be seen along the railway and highway, in contrast to the vast desert in the near distance.

Shapotou has been considered a wonder of the world for stopping the shifting sand. It has won plaudits from the United Nations Environmental Programme and has drawn desertification experts from around the world.

Straw checkerboards were to be seen everywhere, an effective Chinese invention for fixing the shifting sand in place. Since the campaign started in the 1950s, sand-fixing plants have also been introduced.

But the human achievement in Shapotou is still dwarfed by the monstrous advance of desert in other parts of China's Northwest.

Yellow River rafting

Down from Shapotou, on the riverbanks, local men waited eagerly with their sheep-skin rafts, the ancient transportation craft on the Yellow River.

You can choose different routes depending on the time available. The section of the Yellow River from Zhongwei County to Qingtong Gorge is about 200 kilometres long, with predominantly gentle currents. Many beautiful scenes appear when rafting down the river ?the ruins of the ancient Great Wall, ancient waterwheels and islands of birds.

108 Dagobas

About 80 minutes drive from Yinchuan, Qingtong Gorge is a well-known hydro-electric station on the Yellow River but it looked small compared with the mighty Three Gorges Dams.

Our disappointment was soon compensated after a 15-minute drive on a muddy and bumpy path.

Looming in front was a group of dagobas in the shape of a large equilateral triangle.

Known as ?08 Dagobas?and arranged in 12 rows from one to 19 in odd numbers, the architectural complex is the largest existing ancient dagobas group in China.

No one knows when the dagobas were built, but the solid lama tower shape is said to be the style prevailing during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

Chinese pyramids

Driving through the Gobei we saw a great number of military vehicles and soldiers on manoeuvres. We chatted about something appearing in the far distance ?tall and huge. Could they be rocket launchers or some kind of new weapon?

The mystery was solved when we reached the eastern slope of the Helan Mountain, only 20 kilometres from the western suburbs of Yinchuan.

The objects were the mausoleums of emperors of the legendary Western Xia Kingdom (1038-1227).

A guided tour through the museum is a great history class, even for Chinese.

In the early 11th century, the Tuoba group of the ancient nomadic Dangxiangqiang tribe, living in the mountainous region of China's western plateaus, grew strong and set up the Western Xia Kingdom.

Western Xia had close relations with the Han regime in the Central Kingdom. At first it pleaded allegiance to the Tang and Song dynasties (618-1279), but later it entered into rivalry with the Song.

Even so, the Western Xia mingled with the Central Kingdom culturally. It adopted the Tang and Song political and economic systems and created its written language by using the basic parts of the Chinese characters.

All these facts were demonstrated by the ruins and unearthed artifacts.

In an area of 50 square kilometres, erosion has left only huge earth mounds and many small mounds: the nine Western Xia Mausoleums and over 100 immolation tombs.

The imposing appearance of the mausoleums can still be seen from such things as the rammed loess catafalques and towers, vividly glazed tiles and walls.

The Western Xia Mausoleums are praised as "The Pyramids of China?by overseas tourists.

The Gao Temple

The Gao Temple, built in 1403, is a temple of three different religions? Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. It is an architectural wonder, unique in style.

In an area of 4,000 square metres, about 260 temple rooms, towers and pavilions were built close together, tier upon tier, with verandahs and eaves.

(Shanghai Star October 17, 2002)