Shapotou District 沙坡头区

History

The district was approved in 2003 but for years was run by an administrative committee rather than a regular government. It was formally inaugurated on 19 August 2016 and has since operated as a standard urban district.

What to see

The Shapotou scenic area (沙坡头), a national 5A-rated site 15 kilometres from the city of Zhongwei, is presented by the district government as a meeting of sand, river, mountain and garden. Its five signature activities are crossing the Yellow River by air, desert trekking, desert "surfing", sand sliding and rafting on the Yellow River. The United Nations Environment Programme placed it on its Global 500 roll of honour.

The Zhongwei Gao Temple (中卫高庙) combines Confucian, Buddhist and Daoist worship. It faces south and climbs in three terraces to a 29-metre main hall whose floors hold, among others, the Jade Emperor, Confucius and the Queen Mother of the West. It was rebuilt after earthquakes in 1709 and 1739 and after a fire in 1942, and became a national key cultural relic in 2013.

Sikouzi (寺口子), a 3A scenic area of 18 square kilometres backed to the south by the Xiangshan (香山) range, was historically a pass guarding the route towards Guyuan (固原) and Xi'an. Its eastern section is a karst gorge of odd rock formations and its western section a Danxia landform. Nanchangtan (南长滩) is billed as the first village the Yellow River reaches in Ningxia.

Food and local products

Zhongwei lies on the edge of the Tengger Desert, where wild sand sagebrush (沙蒿子) grows, and eating Artemisia long noodles (蒿子长面) is an old local custom. Locally called "longevity noodles", they are eaten at a baby's first month and hundredth day, at elders' birthdays, on the seventh day of the Spring Festival, and by a bride the day before her wedding.

Highlights

• Shapotou scenic area 沙坡头: National 5A scenic area 15 km from Zhongwei, known for crossing the Yellow River by air, sand sliding and rafting.
• Zhongwei Gao Temple 中卫高庙: Temple combining Confucian, Buddhist and Daoist worship, national key cultural relic since 2013.
• Sikouzi 寺口子: Former mountain pass with a karst gorge in its eastern section and a Danxia landform in its western section.
• Nanchangtan Village 南长滩: Called the first village the Yellow River reaches in Ningxia.
• Artemisia long noodles 蒿子长面: Called "longevity noodles" locally and eaten at family milestones and on the seventh day of the Spring Festival.