Guyuan overview 固原

About Guyuan

Guyuan Museum explains the region’s Silk Road connections through objects that travelled across cultures. Xumishan’s cave art adds an outdoor counterpart, while Liupan Mountain requires a separate journey into a different part of the region. The city works best as a starting point for planned excursions rather than a single continuous sightseeing circuit.

Guyuan is the oldest city in Ningxia, founded in 114 BC as Gaoping, capital of Anding Commandery, and it was a stop on the Northern Silk Road. During the Warring States period the area belonged to Qin, and the city took its present name in the Ming dynasty, in 1452. Because of its position, Guyuan served historically as a garrison town where soldiers trained before fighting northwestern peoples, and in the Tang dynasty most traders from Central Asia passed through it on their way to the capital, Chang'an. Most remains of the old city, including a bell tower, were destroyed in the 1970s to build an air-raid shelter, leaving only parts of the city wall.

Guyuan has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate, with long, cold, dry winters and warmer, rainier summers. Elevation above 1,770 metres keeps temperatures cool: January highs average slightly below freezing and July reaches only about 25 degrees Celsius, with most of the year's precipitation falling between June and September.

Liupanshan National Forest Park, one of the region's key features, holds more than 530 species of wild medicinal plants. Its wildlife includes the golden leopard, a first-class protected species, along with the forest musk deer, golden eagle and red-bellied golden pheasant.

What to look for

• Guyuan Museum introduces the area’s Silk Road material culture.
• Xumishan provides a major Buddhist cave-art excursion outside the city.

Location & getting there

Getting to Guyuan

Navigate to your accommodation in Guyuan’s Yuanzhou urban area after arriving at the station or airport on your booking. Arrange separate road transport for Xumishan or the Liupan Mountain visitor area.