Иньчуань: История и современность серебряной реки

Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut led Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 Chinese census, and its built up area was home to 2,564,918 inhabitants spread between three urban districts and Helan and Yongning counties largely being urbanized. The city's name literally means "silver river". Yinchuan is now the permanent site for the China Arab Expo, a platform for cultural and economic exchanges between China and Arab countries. The city is also home to Ningxia University, the largest regional comprehensive university under Ningxia's Project 211.

The area that is now Yinchuan was home to Shuidonggou, China's earliest paleolithic site. It dates from over 30,000 years ago, Later in Chinese prehistory, rock art was created in the Helan mountains adjacent to modern day Yinchuan. Yinchuan was originally a county under the name of Fuping in the 1st century BCE; its name was changed to Huaiyuan in the 6th century CE.

After the fall of the Tang dynasty in 907, Yinchuan came under the control of the Tanguts. In 1038, the Tangut leader Yuanhao declared himself emperor of the Great Xia and made Yinchuan his capital, at that time known as "Xingqing" This provoked much of the native Han population to emigrate. Several of Yinchuan's important cultural sites were built under the Western Xia, such as the Pagoda of Chengtian and the Western Xia mausoleums. In the autumn of 1209, the Mongols invaded Western Xia. They laid siege to Yinchuan, which by this point was known as "Zhongxing". The garrison of 150,000 managed to hold out against the Mongols, although Western Xia submitted to Mongol suzerainty regardless. After Xia attempted to reassert its independence, in 1227 the Mongols returned and slaughtered the city's entire population. Ghenghis Khan died during the siege under debated circumstances. The Mongols knew the city as "Iryai".

Under the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties, it was a prefecture of Ningxia. During the Dungan revolt, Dungan forces massacred 100,000 people in Yinchuan. In 1739, the city was heavily affected by the Yinchuan–Pingluo earthquake. A maximum intensity of XII was determined on the Chinese seismic intensity scale, and XI on the Mercalli intensity scale. The earthquake collapsed most houses, temples, offices, and a city wall tall and wide. Ground fissures up to an meter wide, and long, and great subsidence were accounted in historical records. Over 15,300 people killed and the city was completely levelled. Blazing fires burned all the way through the night as many canals were destroyed, shutting off the flow of water. The ground opened for more than , where sand and black water erupted. Aftershocks persisted for more than two years with the largest being a 5.5 on February 13 that same year. On May 28 numbers dropped drastically when only 3,000 students took to the streets. A similar number of people would march again, this time with wreaths and banners, when they heard the news about the June 4 crackdown in Beijing. On July 23, 1993, China Northwest Airlines Flight 2119, in route from Yinchuan Xihuayuan Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport, crashed into a lake after it was unable to get airborne while attempting to take off at Yinchuan Airport, killing 54 passengers and 1 crew member on board.

On 21 June 2023, a gas explosion inside of a barbecue restaurant in Yinchuan killed at least 31 people and injured 7 others.

Yinchuan lies in the middle of the Yinchuan Plain. It is sheltered from the deserts of Mongolia by the high ranges of the Helan Mountains to its west. The Yellow River runs through Yinchuan from southwest to northeast. The average elevation of Yinchuan is 1,100 meters (about 3,608 feet). The urban center of Yinchuan lies about halfway between the Yellow River and the edge of Helan Mountains.

Yinchuan has a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) with an annual rainfall of Yinchuan has distinct seasons, with dry, cold winters, late springs and short summers. The monthly 24 hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July, with the annual mean at Diurnal temperature variation tends to be large due to the aridity, which also partly contributes to the sunny climate; with monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 58 percent in January to 67 percent in November, the city receives 2,761 hours of bright sunshine annually. There are 158 frost free days.

As of 2019, 72.43% of the city's population is Han Chinese, 25.79% is Hui, and 1.78% are other ethnic minorities. Yinchuan classifies itself as a 'smart city', where modern technology is employed such as facial recognition for public transport payments, connected trash bins and digital citizen service centres.

Although most residents are Han Chinese, Yinchuan is a center for the Muslim Hui people, who constitute slightly over a quarter of the population. A number of cultural festivals are celebrated in Yinchuan. These include an Internet Film Festival, a Car and Motorcycle Tourism Festival, and an International Poetry Festival. Until 2000, Yinchuan was also the traditional host of an August festival celebrating the harvesting of Goji berries (a major product of Ningxia).

The city's attractions include the Sand lake, the Western Xia tombs, and the China Western film Studios. Sand Lake is a lake in a desert 35 miles north of Yinchuan with birds, reeds, lotus and fish. The Western Xia Imperial Tombs are 15.5 miles west of Yinchuan on east side of Mt. Helan. Since June 1972, nine imperial tombs and 253 lesser tombs have been unearthed, which are as grand as Ming Tombs in Beijing. With a total area of more than 19.3 square miles, it is unique among royal burials. China West Film Studio, which has been famed as 'One Superb in China, and Treasure of Ningxia Province', is at the eastern foot of the magnificent Helanshan Mountain, 25 kilometers from the railway station of Yinchuan City, and 48 kilometers from Hedong Airport. It produced The Herdsman, Red Sorghum, Lover's Grief over the Yellow River, New Dragon Gate Inn, Ashes of Time, A Chinese Odyssey, Qiao's Grand Courtyard (TV series) and nearly one hundred other films. In 2018, John Cena lived for five months in Yinchuan while working on a film, Project X Traction, with Jackie Chan (the movie was never ultimately released). There are two pagodas in Yinchuan that are part of the 'Eight Famous Scenery of Ningxia': one is the Haibao Pagoda in the northern suburb and the other is the Chengtiansi Pagoda in the west. Parts of the Great Wall are near the city.