Ningxia Province, China: Far from the madding crowd of Shanghai

 

 

Ningxia Province, China: Far from the madding crowd of Shanghai

By Claudia Looi (told by Megan Chin)

My work has taken me to places that few have been. Today is another day where I had to wake up early to catch four flights from Shanghai to Yinchuan, Ningxia. I am not particularly excited because this is a remote area and the hotels are not even listed in Tripadvisor or any of  the travel websites.

After changing planes from A320 to B737 and three and half hours later, I arrived at Yinchuan, the capital city and gateway to Ningxia, with a population of about 1.5 million people. That is a small crowd compared to Shanghai, the city I have been calling home for the last 2 years. The afternoon sun in August was not as strong as Shanghai. It was about 24 Celcius (about 75 degrees Fahrenheit).

My driver picked me up and dropped me off at a four star hotel in central Yinchuan.There is construction everywhere in Yinchuan. Most of the local hotels are fully booked from May to August. Yinchuan is not a tourists destination. The trip from the airport to city center is about 20 minutes. Travelers can take a cab or a bus from the airport but prepare to speak only Mandarin.

Yinchuan is located near the Yellow River and Inner Mongolia Region. The province of Ningxia is still very remote and most of the inhabitants are farmers.

 

The next day my driver picked me up for a five and half hours, 300 km (about 186 miles) drive to Xiji, southern part of Ningxia. A highway was built in recent years from Yinchuan to Xiji. On our way we saw the geological park, the area was misty because of high elevation. Yinchuan is about 3,500 feet above sea level and the air was fresh. I could see the Helan Mountain from a distance.  It was a peaceful scene, not touristic at all! In fact, you have to be adventurous to come to this part of China.

At the moment, there are not many amenities that cater to comfortable travels into the remote areas of Ningxia. The town of Xiji does not have a hotel. I had to visit the site for our proposed construction and leave Xiji for another town about 63 km (about 39 miles) to Guyuan for accommodation. The best hotel in Guyuan, Southern Region of Ningxia province is rated three star. But it is not what you may think of a three star hotel.

This region is a great introduction to the pureness and reality of the north western region of China. The people are not rushing everyday like Shanghainese. They are just happy being farmers. I was delighted to see potato farmers and their farms. I did not know potatoes have white flowers! I took so many photos of the potato flowers.

The southern region of Ningxia produces potato and celery….

Tourists will need to have a local guide who speaks their language to understand the locals. You can hardly find locals that speak English here.  There are five Chinese minority groups that live in Ningxia. Some are Muslims and speak their own dialects.

I ate lamb in every meal except breakfast. One particular night at my dinner table was the 'head' of the lamb….only the head…don't freak out…it was quite delicious…

An understanding of the Chinese language and culture does help if you intend to visit this part of China. This area is wonderful for nature lovers, geological and plants lovers. I saw an eagle's nest in the huge rock…

Bird watching is another great adventure in Ningxia province. Here is another scene of the beautiful rocks for rock climbing.

This is an eye opening trip for me. I've been to so many parts of the world and parts of China, Ningxia Province is uniquely different from the rest. As an expatriate in China and working for a hotel consultation company, most of the time my travels within China is for work….this trip was no difference.

As we plan our hotel construction…this remote quiet place…when it is done, tourists can visit and enjoy better amenities in this beautiful part of North West China.

I say goodbye, along this yellow road, driving back to Yinchuan in Northern Ningxia. I will be back, this time as a tourist to visit the famous wolfberry farm and take photos and tell stories that my sister begs for…along the way I do see folks who are old and still working and strong. Could it be the wolfberry?

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Megan Chin is a Hospitality and Real Estate Consultant covering Asia Pacific Region for a major European Corporation. She is currently an expat in Shanghai China. She has worked in this industry for the last 15 years and received her education from Scotland. She is a business and leisure traveler and is constantly on airplanes and hotels.

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