Atlas of China
Shizuishan 石嘴山Shízuǐshān
Sand dunes beside a reed-fringed lake, and a Tangut town's earthen walls
About Shizuishan
Shizuishan, Ningxia's northernmost city, is bordered by Inner Mongolia on three sides and was founded in 1960 as a coal-mining city below the northern Helan Mountains; it is still known for its Taixi coal. Most visitors come for Sand Lake, where boats cross reed-fringed water to sand dunes and migratory birds gather in the wetlands. In Huinong district, the earthen walls of Shengwei Ancient City survive from a town founded by the Tangut ruler Li Deming in 1024.
What to eat in Shizuishan
- Huangquqiao stir-fried lamb (黄渠桥爆炒羊羔肉)
- Dawukou liangpi cold noodles (大武口凉皮)
Listed sites in Shizuishan
5 sites in Shizuishan are on the official lists. Those with a page of their own link to it; the rest open as cards on the map.
- Sand Lake (Shahu) 沙湖 5A scenic area · on the map
A freshwater lake fringed with reed beds and backed by sand dunes, developed for tourism since 1990 from a fish lake on a state farm; the scenic area covers about 80 km², including some 45 km² of water and 22 km² of semi-mobile dunes. - Huaxia Qishishan Park 华夏奇石山 4A scenic area · on the map
A landscaped park of about 1.1 km² beside Xinghai Lake in Dawukou, created by grading, covering and planting a former power-station ash dump that stood 13 m above the surrounding land. - Shengwei Ancient City 省嵬城 National heritage site · on the map
The rammed-earth walls of a city founded in 1024 by the Tangut ruler Li Deming, a square of about 590 m a side that is described as the only Western Xia town site in Ningxia with a complete circuit of walls. - Tianzhou Pagoda 田州塔 National heritage site · on the map
A seven-storey hexagonal brick pagoda about 38 m tall in Yaofu town, Pingluo county, once part of a temple; its present structure dates from a Qing rebuilding after the 1739 earthquake. - Yuhuang Pavilion, Pingluo 平罗玉皇阁 National heritage site · on the map
A Taoist temple complex on North Street in Pingluo county town, on the site of a Ming White Dragon temple that was rebuilt as a Jade Emperor pavilion in the late 19th century and enlarged in 1939.
On the map
Open Shizuishan on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.
Open Shizuishan on the map