page_title: Yinchuan
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Yinchuan / Geography
context_page_description: Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. and historically it was the former capital of the Western Xia Empire of the Tanguts. It has an area of 8,874.61 km² and a total population of 2.29 million. Its built-up area is home to 1,487,561 inhabitants spread between three urban districts. The name of the city literally means "silver river".
  Facing the Yellow River in the east, Yinchuan enjoys beautiful natural scenery and favorable conditions for agriculture and has long earned the fame of a "River Side City in the Northwest" and "Home to Fish and Rice". Yinchuan is now the permanent site for China-Arab Expo which is an international platform for cultural and economic exchanges between China and Arab countries.
context_section_description: Yinchuan lies in the middle of the Yinchuan or Ningxia Plain. It is sheltered from the deserts of Mongolia by the high ranges of the Helan Mountains to its west. The Yellow River runs through Yinchuan from southwest to northeast. The average elevation of Yinchuan is 1,100 meters (about 3,608 feet). The urban center of Yinchuan lies about halfway between the Yellow River and the edge of Helan Mountains.
caption: Satellite image of Yinchuan
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