14 Days in Wuhai

The Haibowan dam began holding back the Yellow River in 2013-14 and left the city a lake of roughly 120 square kilometres, with dunes running to the far shore — evening boards and lawns line the east bank.

1. wuhai lake
2. wuhai riverside parks

Sledges and camel lines on the dune field about 15 kilometres from downtown, then the cableway up Gandershan under an equestrian statue cast at roughly 88 metres, in view across most of the city.

1. wuhai jinshawan desert
2. wuhai gandershan statue

The museum walks the coal story of the 1976 mining merger; afternoon at the estate whose vines root in sandy loam along the river, with tastings of the local desert pour.

1. wuhai city museum
2. wuhai hansen winery

Bronze-age hunting scenes pecked into the Zhuozi mountain faces, then the drive south about 40 kilometres to the monastery commonly dated 1778, where lamas once trained in Mongolian medicine.

1. wuhai zhuozi rock art
2. wuhai manbala temple

A day off — morning market noodles, an afternoon of shade by the water and an early night before the league runs.

1. wuhai riverside parks

Labelled honestly, a league day — about 100 kilometres northwest across into Alxa, where the Jilantai salt lake has been worked for centuries and still bleaches the steppe white.

1. wuhai jilantai salt lake

Another league day, labelled as such — two and a half hours or so into the Tengger sands to the crescent of Yueliang (Moon) Lake, a spring-fed lake ringed by tall dunes.

1. wuhai yueliang lake

Boat hire or a lakeside table — the west shore puts dunes and water in one frame, and the sunset turns the whole basin amber.

1. wuhai lake

A neighbour-city day, labelled as such — three to four hours by train south to Yinchuan, overnight there, for the Western Xia imperial tombs at the Helan foot, inscribed on the world-heritage list in July 2025.

1. wuhai yinchuan xixia tombs

A Yinchuan morning in the Helan Pass among thousands of petroglyphs, the sun-face among them, with the afternoon free for the old city's drum-tower quarter.

1. wuhai yinchuan helan rock art

Markets, lakeside parks and the squares of a green oasis capital; pack light for the rail back north.

1. wuhai yinchuan city walk

The morning train north, an afternoon nap, then the west shore at golden hour — dunes, water and the last light in one frame.

1. wuhai lake

Back to the dune field for whatever the first visit left undone — a longer sledge run, or just tea in a desert pavilion.

1. wuhai jinshawan desert

A slow last morning on the east-bank lawns, a lake view for the road out, then the train or flight from the city.

1. wuhai riverside parks