Ningxia’s Best Reviewed Places

Greenhouse Coffee Shop is located in the XiXia District. It is south of Ningxia University B Campus. It is the only foreign owned coffee shop in Yinchuan. Greenhouse is more than just a coffee shop. It also is a place to get some great western food. Salads, sandwiches, pizzas, wraps and hummus plates are made fresh. For more information about Greenhouse Coffee especially seasonal specialities and events, visit their Facebook page. There is a detailed article that includes the menu and several pictures that you can view here.

In November 2018, Tailai Southeast Asian Cuisine Bar opened in Yinchuan. This restaurant features Thai and other southeast Asian dishes.

LaoYangJia Guotie Restaurant is a famous guotie (fried dumplings or pot stickers) restaurant in Yinchuan. It is crowded every day at lunch. It is a halal shop that serves a variety of stuffings including beef, lamb, potatoes, beef and carrot, etc.

The Yellow River Ancient Desert (literal translation) or HuangSha GuDu tourist site has activities to keep the family occupied and having fun for 4-6 hours depending on how busy it is that day. This site contains activities in the sand and on land as well as water activities. Slide down a sand dune and ride camels. Float down stream on a sheep skin raft and ride in a speed boat. All of these activities are included in the price of the entrance ticket. This is one of the few places where entrance fee includes most of the activities. Meituan (discount app) is best place to buy tickets. If you buy a day earlier, it is possible to get tickets for 150 RMB per person. Tour guides and drivers also are able to get this discount. Full price is about 200 RMB a ticket for adults and children over 1.2 meters. View this article for more pictures and info. On Apple Maps it is called HuangSha GuDu Ecologic Tourism Area.

ZhenJun Hotel is a high-end hotel which integrates accommodation, catering, and conferences according to the four-star standard. It hosts weddings and events. The total size is 6,000 square meters. It has 91 rooms. They offer deluxe standard rooms, deluxe king bedrooms, and suites. All rooms have a flat-screen TV, Wifi, a minibar, and a nice bathroom. The hotel also has 680 square meters of meeting rooms, and they can accommodate up to 500 people in a meeting. There is free parking in front of the hotel as well as in the parking garage. Address: 100 meters south of the intersection of Beijing Road and ManCheng South Street in the JinFeng District of Yinchuan.

I am Annie the owner of FHL Handmade Leather Crafts. I graduated from the art and design department at Ningxia University. I worked for a handmade leather goods studio as a designer from the end of 2015 until the beginning of 2017. When the studio closed I started my own handmade leather goods company with my friend. FHL are the initials for Faith, Hope, and Love. Our specialty is to design and make great custom leather goods according to customer’s wishes. We use tanned cow leather imported from Italy. Every part of our leather craft process is done by hand.  We look forward to serving you. WeChat ID: FHL手缝皮具

The Metropolis is located in north central Yinchuan. It is one block north of Ningxia Peoples Hospital. This mall received some publicity when John Cena was living in Yinchuan and recording videos inside and around the mall. Those videos can be found here. The Metropolis is one of Yinchuan’s largest malls, and it stands out from other malls for many reasons. It is called an outlet mall and has several Western clothing stores like Nike, Columbia, Adidas, and New Balance. However, the prices are high not low in these stores. It also has great food options including HaiDiLao Hot Pot and Pizza Hut. There is a great food court in the second building with numerous, inexpensive local food options. Starbucks is on the northwest corner of the mall. There is an ice skating rink in the mall. Hyatt Place and Hyatt Homes hotel is attached to this mall as well. The management takes pride in the cleanliness of this mall, and the bathrooms are amazing. Definitely, the best public restrooms in all of Yinchuan. They have toilets and bathrooms that cater to kids and families. It also has both Western toilets and squatty potties.

Uncle Robin’s Pizza was the first Western restaurant to open in Yinchuan more than 10 years ago. The owner, Uncle Robin, had a desire to serve the international community (the many English teachers living around the restaurant) with food they missed from home, such as pizza. With the help of some of the teachers, Uncle Robin and his team learned to cook pizza and pasta as well as hamburgers and desserts. They created a cozy restaurant with good food. Today there are many Western restaurants in Yinchuan, including chains like Pizza Hut and Burger King. Uncle Robin’s is a quiet place to enjoy a good meal.

The Paulaner Brauhaus is a bar and grill inside the Kempinski Hotel. The Paulaner is known for brewing its own German beer. It may also be the only restaurant with German food. The menu strikes a good balance between dishes that appeal to a Western audience and other dishes that appeal to a Chinese audience. A band begins playing at 8 pm except on Tuesday nights.

Metro is a wholesale distributor that focuses on food products but also has a variety of household items. Purchasing from Metro requires a membership which is free. It is now possible to register and create an account inside WeChat.

The Guyuan Museum of Ningxia provides a helpful introduction to southern Ningxia. It is a great place to visit on a rainy day. The exhibits are informative. It does have some English descriptions. It contains exhibits that show what Guyuan looked like back when it was along the silk road. They have a model of the walled city. It also contains relic that have been discovered during archaeological digs in the area. The museum is free. They will ask for your passport when you visit. They will mark you down in the entry log, but after they mark your name down you are free to explore.

The China West Film Studio is located in northwest Yinchuan. At the film studio you will find different movie sets and props. You will also get to experience a few reenactments. Over 100 films have been recorded at the China West Film Studio, so the studio has become a popular tourist attraction.   To learn more about a tourist’s experience at the China West Film Studio click here. 

Shapotou is located in Zhongwei county. It sits on the north bank of the Yellow River where the southeastern section of the Tengger Desert borders Zhongwei. It has some great views of the surrounding area. There are many fun activities like camel riding, ATV rides and dune buggies. Then on the large hill that overlooks the Yellow River, you can slide down the hill or ride a chair lift down. You can soar across the river on a zipline or float down it on a sheepskin raft. These activities are not included in the entrance price. The ticket price is 80 yuan from April to October and 50 yuan from November through March. Discounted tickets can sometimes be purchased on Meituan. Children between 1.2 and 1.5 meters receive a half price ticket. Kids under 1.2 meters are free. Children and the elderly are not allowed to participate in all activities. Shapotou is about 3 hours from Yinchuan by car. Many hotels in Zhongwei host foreigners. The ideal time to visit is in the morning before the heat of the afternoon arrives. If you visit in the Spring be prepared for high winds which means lots of sand flying through the air.    

Guyuan Park is a hill that separates the newer part of Guyuan from the old city. It provides a great 360 degree view of Guyuan. From the north side there are steps to the top. There are a lot of steps so be prepared. From the west you can walk up the slope. There is a pagoda at the top, but it is not open. This park is free.

Yinchuan is home to one of Beijing’s famous QuanJuDe Duck Restaurants. It is easy to miss it as it sits on the corner of the street and back off the road. If you love duck, this is a great restaurant to visit. Recommend calling for a reservation as it is always busy.

LiuPan Mountain Forest Park is located in the lush LiuPan Mountains. It is open from May to October. At the entrance, you will pay the fees to enter. 100 RMB per person entrance fee, 10 RMB for parking and 40 RMB per person for bus to carry you from entrance to park up and over the pass into the gorge (roundtrip). There are many beautiful views beginning on the bus trip over the pass. Then as you hike along the trails, you can enjoy the sound of the creek as it runs by and the clean, clear water. There are three main hiking trails currently open. The best one is the first one where the bus or van will stop. It is called 小南河 (little south creek). The trail takes you along the edge of the creek for a couple of miles until you reach the small waterfall. Then the trail turns and comes back. LiuPan Mountain Forest Park is a popular tourist attraction especially on official holidays and the weekends throughout the summer. If you going during the week in May, June and September, it will be almost empty and serene.