Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is located in the middle of the Ningxia Plain in northwest China. It has the characteristics of both the magnificent scenery of the northwest and the charm of the south, as well as the integration of traditional culture and modern civilisation. It lies to the east of the winding Yellow River and to the west of the majestic Helan Mountain. It includes three districts, two counties and one city (Xingqing District, Jinfeng District, Xixia District, Yongning County, Helan County, and Lingwu City), with a total area of 902,538 hectares and a city area of 230,586 hectares. At the end of 2022, the urban area had a population of 1.918 million.

Yinchuan has a long history and rich cultural heritage, and is a national historic and cultural city with a history of over 2,100 years. It was formerly known as “Xingqing Palace” and also called “Phoenix City”. It is also an important hub city of the Belt and Road Initiative and an important window for China’s opening-up to the West. It is the permanent venue of the China-Arab Expo. Yinchuan has successively won many honours, such as the National Garden City, the National Health City, the National Water Saving City, the National Environmental Protection Model City, the Best Ecological Tourism City in China, the Civilized City of China, the Most Desirable City in China, the China Habitat Environment Award, the Top Ten Most Beautiful Cities in China, and the Asian Urban Landscape Award. In 2018, Yinchuan became one of the first group of “International Wetland Cities” in the world.

Yinchuan has a temperate continental climate with four distinct seasons and little rain or snow. The climate is dry. Although water is scarce, the magnificent desert scenery, beautiful northern landscape and ancient Yellow River culture blend together, and it is known as the “Beautiful South of the Gobi Desert” and the “Land of Fish and Rice”. The Yellow River flows through Ningxia with many bends, which has created the famous Yinchuan Wetlands. Yinchuan Wetlands are located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River in the middle of the Ningxia Plain in the western regions of China. With a high density, a wide range and a large number of distributions, it is rarely seen in the arid regions. At present, the wetland area in the urban area of Yinchuan (Xingqing District, Jinfeng District, and Xixia District) is 21,300 hectares, with nearly 200 natural lakes. The urban wetland ratio is 11.88%, and the wetland protection ratio is 65.87%.

There are two national important wetlands in Yinchuan, namely the Yellow River Bund National Important Wetland and the Mingcui Lake National Important Wetland. There are also four provincial key wetlands: Yuehai, Huangshagudu, Bao Lake and Xingqing Yellow River Beach, and five other national wetland parks. The construction of the “Lake City in the Gobi Desert” adds a deep charm to the historic Yellow River culture.

Yinchuan is an important habitat for birds in western China and the East Asia-Australasian Flyway. The Yinchuan wetland is home to 242 species of wild birds, including 11 species of nationally protected animals such as Ciconia nigra, Mergus squamatus, Larus relictus, Aquila chrysaetos, Haliaeetus albicilla, Otis tarda, Pelecanus crispus and etc. There are 38 species of second-class protected animals including Cygnus cygnus, Platalea leucorodia, Cygnus columbianus, Anser albifrons, Aix galericulata, and etc. In comparison to 2018, three first-class protected animals, namely P. crispus, L. relictus, and Egretta eulophotes, have been added to the list of wetland wild birds. The Larus ridibundus has become a familiar sight to citizens and Yinchuan has truly become “a land flowing with milk and honey”.

In recent years, the Yinchuan Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have prioritised the protection and restoration of Yinchuan’s wetlands as part of their strategy to establish an ecologically sustainable city. They have made significant progress in constructing ecosystems in the mountains and rivers and managing deserts and wetlands. Going forward, they plan to implement wetland protection and restoration projects such as ‘Beautiful Rivers and Lakes’. The aim is to create a city with a lake in the mountains and a water town in the northwest. The city should be in the lake and the lake in the city. The goal is to enhance the city brand of ‘blue sky and clear water, beautiful Yinchuan’ and move towards the model of ‘wetland and city’, ‘wetland and people’, ‘wetland and mountain, river, and desert’, coexistence, and prosperity.