Lanzhou Railway, which was completed with much National Prowess in 1958 AD. Before the opening of this important Railway Ningxia was in fact a very remote Region, only reachable through tracks along the Pathways of the former Silk Road to the South in Shaanxi Province, or by small roads and Camel trails traversing the rugged wilderness of Inner-Mongolia and its Gobi Desert.
Although the first trains had been introduced in China in the very last years of the 19Th Century and the Capital Beijing had been connected by 1902 AD, most early railway developments in China were direct results of Foreign Imperialist economic and strategic interests, thus: Main Cities in Central China and on the Coast were connected, enabling export of (mostly raw) materials and travel of personel. In the early 20th Century many nations contributed to the building of Chinese Railway network however in North-Eastern China (Manchuria) the Japanese, who were annexing more and more Chinese
A Full Google Earth Supported Map of Ningxia
Bayan Hot
Schematic Map of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region with the locations of Main Cities + Towns and sites of Interest.
Satellite image of China and North-East Asia, with a super-imposed schematic Map of the location and Path of the Great Wall as constructed during the Reign of the Ming Dynasty. Included for reference are City names, geographical features of landscape, Names and locations of Passes on the Great Wall of China.
in Inner-Mongolia and following the path of the Yellow River upstream. Ever since the Railroad has been the economic lifeline of all major industries within Ningxia Autonomous Region.
Recently new railway lines and an airport have been constructed, however the old railroad remains the main means of communications with Inner-Mongolia to the North and Gansu Province in the South.
The Baotou-Lanzhou Railway (or simply BaoLan) reaches Ningxia from the North following along the 'bend' of the Yellow River in Inner-Mongolia. After reaching Yinchuan the train continues along the North Bank of the Xintongxia Reservoir of the Yellow River, then turns westward to pass Zhongwei and Gantang Towns before entering Gansu Province. In Gansu Province the line continues through Jingtai to Baiyin and ends at Lanzhou, the Capital of Gansu Province.
The Second Main Railway line is the Yinchuan-
Helpful Geographic Map of Inner-Mongolia showing the importance and pathway of the railroad Baotou Connection.
Baoji Railway which is a branch line of the Lanzhou-Baotou railway which travels from Leijia Shawo across the Yellow River to Xuanhezhen, then heads Southward to Tongxing and further passes along the Qingshui through Guyuan to extend south to Baoji in Shaanxi Province. This is the only passable route through the mountainous terrain and the route roughly corresponds to the local pathway of the ancient Silk Road.
A Third direction of Travel is west to Wuwei in Gansu Province. Again this is a branch line based upon the Main Lanzhou-Baotou Railway. Trains travel from Yinchuan to Zhongwei and Shapotou. The Line branches at Gantang (Zhen=Sub-Prefecture Level City) on the Border of Ningxia and Gansu Provinces, and travels directly to Wuwei, gateway to the Hexi Corridor and the Far West.
A new railway, linking from Zhongwei in Ningxia acrosses Shaanxi and Shanxi Provinces to Taiyuan the Capital of Shanxi Province is under construction at this Time. Named the Zongtai line（中太鐵路: Zongwei-Taiyuan 中衛－太原）the new line is expected to become operational in 2010 AD.
AIRPORTS IN NINGXIA:
Yinchuan Hedong National Airport is the main airfield in Ningxia AR. A secondary smaller airfield, Zhongwei Xiangshan Airport (中卫香山机场) has been constructed near Zhongwei in West-Ningxia. Another airfield can be found at Wuhai, some ways North of the Ningxia Border at the Yellow River within Inner-Mongolia AR. The largest Regional Airport is Lanzhou Zhongcuan Airport. A new Airfield known as Yinchuan Helan Shan has been constructed =due West of Town, but this is a miltary airfield and off-limits.
Hedong meaning "East of the River" literally derived from the fact that the airport is located east of the Yellow River. The terminal building covers a total area of 15,000 sq m (3.7 acres). It has an annual capacity of handling 819,000 passengers is to be improved by a new expansion under consideration.
Since the announcement of the 'Great Western Development Strategy' in 2005 AD and a sharp rise in internal tourism, Ningxia’s air transport is experiencing a major boom. More flights and air routes are planned and implemented regularly.
Territory, played an extremely important role. As for Provinces and Regions far within the Chinese Interior such as Ningxia, there was no industrial development and so there simply were no railroads.
The construction of the Baotou-Lanzhou Railroad for the first time provided a direct railway link with the National Capital Beijing through the city of Baotou
ROADS & HIGHWAYS IN NINGXIA:
Main Road connections within Ningxia correspond with local natural boundaries and ancient travel directions and trading paths. The largest Bridge on the Yellow River in Ningxia is the Taole Yellow River Expressway Bridge (陶乐黄河大桥).
The Most important Highway is the Jingzhang Expressway, a modern highway which recently replaced the historic G110 Road in function. Basically the Jingzhang Expressway follows the pathway of Baotou-Lanzhou Railway and the path of the Yellow River. Thus it reaches Ningxia from the North and connects to Yinchuan. From there it connects through to Zhongning on the Southern Bank of the Yellow River, a major transportation hub.
(Technically Jingzhai Expressway carries on further ending at Xingrengxiang further South-West but for practical purposes this is of little consequence).
Qingyin Expressway leads roughly south-eastward out of Yinchuan to pass North of its Hedong National Airport and leads through the desert to Yanchi. From there it leads into Shaanxi Province past Dingbian, another Great Wall location, as the Guwang Expressway.
A Third major traffic artery is the Fujin Expressway which connects the Town of Zhongning on the Yellow River with the souther reaches of Ningxia Autonomous Region, and in the Future through the Kongtong Mountains into Gansu Province and through to the City of Baoji in West-Shaanxi Province. As does the railroad, this highway follows the valley of the Qingshui River and passes an Inner-Layer of
PLEASE NOTE: At the moment Fuyin Expressway is still under construction and ends at Yuanzhou & Guyuan in South-Ningxia, North of Kongtong Shan. From there follow National Route S101 to Baoji in Shaanxi Province.
More Roads are expected open in 2010 AD.
Still under construction but already connecting to the Western Border is the Zhongying Expressway. This Highway leads Westward out of Zhongning to follow the Southern Bank of the Yellow River past Shapotou. In the near Future it will connect through to Gantang Border Town and through Gansu Province directly to Wuwei at the southern end of the strategic hexi corridor.
The construction of 1000's of miles of modern highways have yielded the short term results of creating much needed jobs in many sectors in the Ningxia Region and beyond. It is hoped that the construction of massive infra-structure will help unlock the barren West and further stimulate regional economic development.
Historical Routes now replaced by more modern highways are the G109 and G110 Roads.
G110 reaches Ningxia from Inner-Mongolia in the North (as G110) and roughly follows the flow path of the Yellow River. At many points it lies within eye-sight of the Baotou-Lanzhou Railroad.
G110 enters Ningxia in the North at Huinong Town and leads southward passing East of Shizuishan City. In the Vicinity it is connected to Highway G109, which reaches Ningxia from the East traversing right through the Ordos Desert. Both roads then lead Southward to Yinchuan and beyond.
