In September this year, I visited Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. We now set off on a journey of discovery through the fascinating though little explored south and western parts of the Hui region.

　　Several hours by bus southwest from Yinchuan and close to the border with Gansu is Zhongwei, a small pleasant town centred on a highly ornate red and green drum tower (gulou. The main attraction is the carefully restored 15th century Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) structure the Gao Miao Temple Originally completed during the rein of Emperor Yongle (1403 - 24) it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1710. Today it is an active Buddhist lamasery whose romantic wooden buildings also reflect Confucianism and Taoism. Over the entrance a sign reads Within these confines nature and man cultivate themselves?

　　Appearing at first to be one structure it is actually a highly complex and detailed structure of over 250 interlocking temple rooms, towers and pavilions adorned with diverse multi-pinnacled roofs whose ridges are carvedsintossequences of flowers and topped by carved dragons. Steep stairs lead up to aerial walkways connecting the buildings. No space seemed wasted - every section was decorated, either carved or painted. The effect creates a resemblance to a dreamland castle.

　　My reasons for going to Zhongwei lay beyond the town 17 kilometres west at Shapatou. There the highway to Lanzhou crosses a great sand slope, the edge of the Tengger Desert (tengger shamo). Running parallel is the electric railway, an essential link between Beijing and Northwest China. An engineering masterpiece it climbs beyond the valley in a series of large horseshoe curves. Below, to the left, the Yellow River flows in a wide enclosed bend. From my high vantage point, I was reminded of Egypt - the wide river, a slim line of cultivation, large sand hills, and dry mountains - life appeared only possible in a narrow belt along the river. It also emphasised the importance of the Yellow River Corridor for communications and travel in this remote region. The construction of transport links here has not been easy because of the constant threat of the drifting sand. Unique answers to the problem were devised.

　　From the highway a footpath led across the railway andsintosan area of desert stabilisation. This was part of the great Shapatou Desert Research Centre (Shapatou shamo yanjiusuo) set up in 1956. The solution was to dig small squares of strawsintosthe dunes, forming a chequerboard pattern.sintosthe grid, trees were then planted. As they grew so they would stabilise the sand. A slow process, but, over the 40 years of its existence, several thousand hectares have been reclaimed, creating a long ribbon of greenery along the railway. It is part of the green Great Wall.

　　Beyond the stabilization scheme was seemingly lifeless desert. A fence was almost buried under a bank of blown sand. It was chilling to think that the land stretching before me was one of the emptiest places on earth. I had reached the frontier of civilisation. I was standing close to the western boundary of Ningxia with Inner Mongolia only 20 kilometres to the north. Turning round and looking at the dunes now covered in flowering bushes and tough grass I realised the considerable success achieved in taming this particular local desert environment.

　　Before the construction of the railway and more recently, the highway, the river was important for transportation. For centuries, due to the shallow water and scarcity of trees, a unique form of vessel was used - Leather Rafts (yangpi fazi). Sheepskins were treated with oil, sewn up, pumped full of air and then attached to wooden frames. Although mostly used for short crossings, some were lashed together for longer voyages. Thousands of rafts were employed in the 1950's on the 2,000 kilometer. trip between Lanzhou and Baotou, a two-week journey. The largest was made up of 600 sheepskins and could carry loads up to 30 tonnes. Those I saw at Shapatou had 14 inflated sheepskins and were capable of carrying four people - usually tourists!

　　Since the Han Dynasty(206BC-220AD), settlement along the Yellow River was based on irrigated farming employing giant water wheels. Today, modern diesel or electric pumps have replaced most of these examples of intermediate technology? To view one of the last remaining wheels I travelled by jeep for an hour down a dry desert valley to a remote village on the canyon-enclosed banks of the river. A stone-lined aqueduct brought water from the main channel to a giant wood and metal wheel that turned with the strength of the current, lifting box loads of liquid. Emptyingsintosa series of wooden pipes the water flowed to another aqueduct and eventually reached the fields.

　　Ningxia is described as a land of bush southern-style fields north of the Great Wall - a reference to the fertile rice padis and intensive vegetable cultivation made possible by the careful use of the Yellow River's water, a practice going back hundreds of years. Apart from the water wheels, huge canals were built. The main ones still used today were constructed during the Han (206 BC to AD 220) and the Tang (AD 618 - 907) dynasties. The system has been continually developed until virtually a network of waterways serves the entire valley.

　　At Qingtongxia Town a large dam was built across the river in 1962, effectively creating a long lake. A multi-purpose river control scheme, it controls the flow of irrigation watersintosthe canals as well as producing abundant hydroelectric power for much of Ningxia and nearby aluminium works.

　　Qingtongxia is also the location of one of Ningxia's many historic treasures - the 108 Dagobas (qingtongxia yibai ling ba ta). A steep hillside rising above the north shore of the lake is lined with small white dagobas constructed during the Yuan Dynasty. Topped with metal caps and arranged in 12 ever-decreasing rows the effect is like a large triangular constellation.

　　Although most of Ningxia's population and main centres of economic activity are along the plains of the Yellow River Valley, much of the region actually stretches southsintosan attractive hilly area bounded on both sides by Gansu Province.

　　Heading south across the Yellow River to the market town of Zhongning my route continued along the valley of the Qingshui He, passing through many small towns and farming villages. Running alongside the highway was the electrified Zhongwei-Baoji Railway completed in 1995 as a stimulus for economic growth along this corridor linking Ningxia with Shaanxi.

　　This south-heading highway gradually climbed onto a loess plateau, more reminiscent of Shaanxi than the lands around the Yellow River. Although most of the houses today are constructed of brick, there were remnants of traditional cave dwellings - dug out of the loess and finished with wooden and glass fronts. This was a farming area. On concrete platforms outside villages peasants were tossing grain and gathering up the straw. Sacks of grain were hauled off to storage sheds while bundles of straw were piled alongside the houses. Wooden ladders led up to roofsswherescorncobs were laid out to dry. Each village also appeared to have a mosque.

　　This is the predominantly Hui (Muslim) area of Ningxia. Many live around Tongxin and GuyuanswheresI was heading.

　　On a low plateau next to the main highway in Tongxin County stood the Great Mosque (qingzhen dasi). Like many older mosques the mud-earth structure with dark bricks and weathered light brown wood resembled a large temple. Beyond a soon gate an angled walkway led up to the main courtyard. Friday prayers were in progress - rows of men kneeled on carpets, all bowing together in response to the imam's prayers which were relayed by speakers outside the main hall. Shoes were neatly lined up near the door. Clocks indicating prayer times adorned the brick walls. Part of the courtyard contained fasting rooms and also bathhouses - cleanliness being a very important part of Islamic life. The relatively simple appearance of the mosque contrasted markedly with the Buddhist temples I had visited earlier, such as the incredible Gao Miao in Zhongwei.

　　Close to the Liupan Mountains, Guyuan is the principal town of southern Ningxia. It had been a significant settlement during the Qing Dynasty as shown in the town's fascinating museum (guyuan bowuguan). Inside, several reconstructed tombs ranging from the Northern Wei Period (386-535) to the Yuan (1271-1368) could be entered. One contained several wall murals and an army of miniature military figures, reminiscent in a smaller way of the remains at Xi'an. A large model displayed the former city with two sets of walls, ten major gate towers, a bell tower and a temple. Only a few parts of the walls still remain. Although within the Wall Guyuan was away from the main Silk Route from Lanzhou to Xi'an and found itself increasingly isolated as communications developed to the north and south of its valley.

　　The road out of town heads north past the ruins of a former mud-walled town and the remains of the Qin Dynasty Great Wall. 40 kilometres from Guyuan at Sanying a narrow highway headed west above the Chou Shui He and wound through a red sandstone gorge to the Xumi Shan Grottoes (xumishan shiku). xumi is the Chinese version of the Sanskrit word sumeru which means treasure mountain.

　　A path led to the 22 metres high Dafo Lou carvedsintosthe rusty red sandstone cliffs. This towering and imposing Buddha reminded me of the Great Buddha (dafo at Leshan in Sichuan. A series of steep, narrow walkways cutsintosthe cliffs led up to 132 man-made caves containing over 300 Buddhist statues some over 6 metres tall. Work on these remarkable grottoes began in the reign of Emperor Xiaowendi (AD 477 - 99).

　　I reached the top of one long section. Nearby inside a former Tang temple chanting Buddhist nuns held handfuls of incense sticks. The whole setting was very beautiful looking over the green tiled roof of a ting and beyond to a secluded deep valley and its surrounding cloud-capped hills. Several flocks of sheep were grazing, but there was little sign of settlement except back towards Sanying.

　　It was time to head back to Yinchuan and continue on by train to Lanzhou. It was a beautiful evening - not only a star-filled sky but also a full moon. As the train headed out from the capital and rolled onwards to Zhongwei I thought about how much had happened in only a few days. I knew I would always remember my happy stay in Ningxia. In fact I have now been back several times and have continued to experience the warm welcome that is a characteristic of the Region.