Huinong District 惠农区

History

Under the Western Xia the area belonged to Dingzhou, and the district government says traces of Tangut culture survive in the old town of Shengwei (省嵬城). In 1541 the Ming built its northern Great Wall near today's Hongguozi (红果子), and the land beyond it passed to Mongol tribes. Huinong County was created in 1941 and became the base of the new city of Shizuishan in 1960; the present district was formed by merging the former Shizuishan District and Huinong County. The district government calls it the birthplace of Ningxia industry: the region's first ton of coal, first kilowatt-hour of power and first heat of steel were produced here. Decades of mining left 43 square kilometres of subsided land, which has been turned into green space over some 20 years.

What to see

Shizuizi (石嘴子), a rock jutting out like a mouth on the west bank of the Yellow River, gave Shizuishan its name. It was one of Ningxia's three official ferry crossings, used for trade since the Qin and Han; in the late Qing, British and German merchants based in Tianjin shipped northwestern hides through it. A road bridge replaced the ferry in 1988. A restoration of the dock site added a boardwalk on top of the rock and a path along its foot, beside cliffs scoured by the Yellow River, and the Shizuizi Dock Park (石嘴子码头公园) records the dock's history.

The Ningxia Coal Geology Museum (宁夏煤炭地质博物馆) stands in Pit No. 6 of the Shizuishan National Mine Park (石嘴山国家矿山公园) and covers how coal forms and how the subsided land was repaired. Along the Yellow River the district has about 100,000 mu of natural tamarisk (红柳) woodland, which the district government calls the largest and best-preserved riverside wetland in Ningxia. Other listed sights include Baihu Cave (白虎洞) and the remains of the old northern Great Wall.

Food and local products

Huinong has grown goji berries for more than 600 years, and Huinong goji (惠农枸杞) is a registered geographical indication trademark.

Highlights

• Shizuizi dock site 石嘴子码头遗址: Rock and former Yellow River ferry that gave Shizuishan its name, with a boardwalk on top of the rock.
• Ningxia Coal Geology Museum 宁夏煤炭地质博物馆: Museum in Pit No. 6 of the Shizuishan National Mine Park.
• Huinong goji 惠农枸杞: Goji berries grown here for more than 600 years; a geographical indication trademark.