Yellow River Travel Route

From its lofty source on the Tibetan plateau, the famed Yellow River (黄河, huánghé) runs for almost 5,500km before emptying into the Yellow Sea, making it China’s second-longest waterway after the Yangzi, and the sixth longest in the world. The river’s name stems from the vast quantities of loess it carries, a fertile yellow silt which has done much to benefit the region’s agricultural potential over the millennia. However, the river’s popular nickname, “China’s Sorrow”, hints at the regular floods and changes of course that have repeatedly caused devastation – the waterway is often likened to a dragon, a reference not just to its sinuous course, but also to its uncontrollable nature, by turns benign and malevolent. On the flipside, it provides much-needed irrigation to areas otherwise arid and inhospitable, and has created some of China’s most distinctive landscapes, barrelling past colossal sand dunes before sliding along pancake-flat loess plains scarred with deep, winding crevasses. To have a good appreciation of the culture and nature the Yellow River breeds, a journey to Henan, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, would be definitely a feast to your eyes and souls.

Recommended Route

Shandong — Henan — Inner Mongolia — Shanxi — Shaanxi — Gansu — Ningxia

Must-see Along The Route

01. Shandong Province

Abbreviated as “Lu”, Shandong (literally “east of the mountain”) Province is so named because it is located to the east of the Taihang Mountains. Situated on the coastland of East China in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, it includes the peninsula and the mainland territory.

Shandong’s terrain is complicated, with hills being the principal landform. The eastern part of the province is the peninsula with its fascinating coastline views. Its central and southern regions are composed of hills, while its southwestern region is made up of hills.

The province has a monsoon climate, with concentrated rainfall during the hot season. It is hot and rainy in the summer, and dry and cold in winter.

Shandong enjoys a long history and is a land that has bred generations of talents. As early as the Pre-Qin era, Qilu Culture was cultivated here, with its core being Confucian Culture.

Over a long course of history, a distinctive cultural system was established here. Shandong Cuisine is the leading style among the four Chinese Cuisines. There are more than 30 varieties of popular operas in Shandong.

Baotu Spring is one of the landmarks of Jinan. Legend has it that when Emperor Qianlong passed the spring during his imperial visit, he inscribed the words “the Greatest Spring under Heaven” onto its rocks.

Badaguan is famous for its architectural design, which combines a variety of styles from different countries, earning it the nickname the “world exposition of architecture”. Among the buildings, the best known are Gongzhu Lou (Princess Tower) and Huashi Lou (colorfull rock building).

The Kong Family Mansions were once the office and mansions of the eldest legitimate grandson of Confucius. The family is known as “the First Family under Heaven”. It is a typical piece of feudal architecture combining government offices and residences.

Penglai

Olympic Sailing Center

Ter'erzhuang Ancient Town

Shanghe Guzi Yangko

Sweet and Sour Carp

02. Henan Province

Henan Province, “Yu” for short, is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. It was named Henan (literally “south of the river”) because most part of the province is located south of the Yellow River. Henan is the birthplace of the Chinese civilization and the Chinese nation, as well as a historical Chinese cultural center.

The province has complex topography with a terrain that descends from west to east. The Taihang Mountains are located in the north, while branches of the Qinling Mountains are in the west. The Dabie Mountains and Tongbai Mountains are in the south. The Yellow River flows through the province from east to west with the vast North China Plain located in the east.

Henan has a typical temperate monsoon climate with four distinct seasons, characterized by simultaneous rain and heat. The weather is pleasant in spring, while the sky is high and the weather fine in autumn, the two best seasons for traveling.

Henan enjoys a long history and has been China’s political, economic, cultural and transportation center for 5,000 years. The province is also the home of Luoyang, Kaifeng, Anyang, Zhengzhou and other world-famous ancient Chinese capitals.

Henan, China’s third most populous province, has its modern-day industrial trappings conceal a rich history watered by the great Yellow River. The wonderful Longmen Grottoes lie due south of Luoyang, an ancient dynastic capital thought by the Chinese of antiquity to be the centre of the universe – it may, at one time, have been the largest city on earth. Luoyang also makes a good jumping-off point for one sight whose name, at least, is familiar to many Westerners: Shaolin Temple, home to the famed fighting monks. Further to the east of Henan’s modern capital Zhengzhou is the old city of Kaifeng, which wears its history rather better than others in the province – particularly in the form of the ancient wall still enclosing its centre.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Longmen Grottoes are a spectacular parade of Buddhist figurines and reliefs only 12km south of Luoyang. Caves pockmark the cliffs lining a meandering river, hosting figures ranging in size from the miniature to the monumental. It’s an extremely popular place in the summer, though even the teeming crowds can’t lessen the spectacle; try to visit early on in the day, however, as the exposed site can be rather hot.

Longmen’s roadhead is almost 2km short of the caves; if you don’t fancy a walk through the souvenir stalls, head down to the river and follow it to the entrance. Starting from the northern end and moving south down the group, the following are the most important carvings, which stand out due to their size.

Sitting 13km west of Dengfeng on the road to Luoyang, Shaolin Temple is a place of legends. This is the temple where the sixth-century founder of Buddhism’s Chan (Zen) sect, Bodhidarma, consolidated his teachings in China, and also where – surprisingly, given Buddhism’s peaceful doctrines – Chinese kung fu is said to have originated. Today, it’s an entertaining look into modern China’s kung fu cult, it’s a lot of fun. In autumn, the place is particularly busy, filling up with martial-arts enthusiasts from all over the world who come to attend the international Wushu Festival in nearby Zhengzhou.

The White Horse Temple, built during the Eastern Han Dynasty, is known as “China’s Number One Ancient Temple”. It faces the south and has a rectangular courtyard.

China Xixia Dinosaur Heritage Park

Yanqingguan

Baling Bridge

Peony Park

Henan Braised Noodles

03. Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Lying on China’s north border, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region spans a total area of 1.183 million square kilometers. It borders Heilongjiang, Jilin arid Liaoning in the east, neighbors Hebei, Shanxi and Shaanxi in the south, touches Ningxia and Gansu in the west, and is connected to Russia and Mongolia in the north, with a national boundary of 4,221 kilometers. Most parts of the region are plateaus that rise over 1,000 meters above sea level. The plateaus stretch 3,000 kilometers from northeast to southwest. There are also 880,000 square kilometers of grasslands, accounting for 21.7% of total grasslands across the country. Scattered around the region are meadow grasslands, typical grasslands, desert grasslands and steppe deserts, as well as alpine meadows, low wetland meadows and marsh grasslands. In the east are primitive forests on the Greater Hinggan Range, while in the west are vast deserts with the Ordos Plateau as the backbone. Beyond the plateau are the Hetao and Liaonen Plains formed by the Yellow and Liaohe Rivers. More than 1,000 rivers, big and small, run through and nourish the highlands, mountains and plains across the region.

There used to live a dozen ethnic minorities in ancient times. In the 12th Century, Genghis Khan united tribes all over the Mongolian Plateau and established a nomadic kingdom. During the Yuan Dynasty, the region was under the jurisdiction of the Central Secretariat and other ministries. In the second half of the 15th Century, Dayan Khan reunited the Mongolian Desert, and his grandson Altan Khan later controlled the western Inner Mongolia and established intimate political and economic relationship with the Ming Dynasty. Inner Mongolia was more close to the mainland during the Qing Dynasty. In the last century, Mongolian people were active in revolutionary movements, and have led to a road of regional ethnic autonomy, On May 1,1947, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was officially founded, putting an end to national separation and conflicts over centuries.

The region has a population of 23.94 million, which come from such 49 ethnic groups as the Han, Mongolian, Hui, Manchu, Daur, Ewenki and Orogen, Mongolian people make up the majority of local population. The lifestyles, traditional customs and modern achievements of local ethnic groups comprise colorful ethnic cultures, which set off with natural scenery.

Historically, peoples in the region led to a nomadic life, creating a rich and brilliant culture.

Inner Mongolia isn’t all one giant steppe, but three areas in the vicinity of Hohhot are certainly large enough to give the illusion of endlessness. These are Xilamuren (希拉穆仁草原, xīlāmùrén căoyuán), which begins 80km north of Hohhot; Gegentala (格根塔拉草原, gégēntălā căoyuán), 70km further north; and Huitengxile (辉腾锡勒草原, huīténgxīlè căoyuán), 120km northeast of Hohhot. It’s hard to differentiate between them, except that Xilamuren – the only one of the three that can feasibly be reached independently – is probably the most visited and Gegentala the least. Bear in mind that your grassland experience in the immediate area of the regional capital is likely to be a rather packaged affair, and a visit to a grassland in another, remoter part of the region (such as Hailar) may well give you a more authentic flavour of Mongolia.

If you accept the idea that you are going on a tour of the grasslands to participate in a local social experience, then you’ll get much more out of it. Besides, it is perfectly possible to escape from your group by hiring your own horse, or heading off for a hike. If your stay happens to coincide with a bright moon, you could be in for the most hauntingly beautiful experience of your life.

Genghis Khan’s Mausoleum provides a fascinating insight into the modern cult of the famous warrior. Special sacrificial ceremonies take place here four times a year on certain days of the lunar calendar – the fifteenth day of the third lunar month, the fifteenth day of the fifth lunar month, the twelfth day of the ninth month and the third day of the tenth month. On these occasions, Mongolian monks lead solemn rituals that involve piling up cooked sheep before the statue of the khan. The ceremonies are attended not only by local people, but also by pilgrims from other countries.

When autumn comes to Ejin, for about a dozen days, the 440,000 mu (29.3 hectares) of populus euphratica-covered forest will be swathed in gold. With the forest swathed in gold, the blue sky, white clouds and golden populus euphratica intertwine and embellish Inner Mongolian autumn season.

Bailu Island, Mordaga National Forest Park

Aershan Rhododendron Lake

Blooming Season

Mongolian Dance

Mongolian White Food

04. Shanxi Province

The province of Shanxi, situated on the Loess Plateau in the middle reaches of the Yellow River in northern China, borders Hebei Province in the east and Shaanxi Province in the west and is connected to Henan Province in the south and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the north. Under the jurisdiction of the Jin State during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.), the province is also called Jin for short. Within its territory of 156,300 square kilometers are diverse landforms, such as mountains, hills, plateaus, basins and mesas. Most parts of Shanxi are mountainous highlands 1,000-2,000 meters above sea level. It is surrounded by mountains, including the Taihang Mountain in the east, Liiliang Mountain in the west, Hengshan and Wutai Mountains in the north, Zhongtiao Mountain in the south and Taiyue Mountain in the center. Two major rivers, Fenhe and Haihe, flow through the province. Shanxi features a warm-temperate and temperate continental climate. There are living 35 ethnic groups, with a total population of over 33 million, of which 99.75 percent are the Han people. Shanxi abounds in wildlife and mineral resources. Particularly it tops the nation in coal reserves, hence its reputation as the Home of Coal. Its capital city, Taiyuan, is an open city of inland China.

As one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization, Shanxi also abounds in tourism resources. There are 271 cultural sites under state-class protection, accounting for 11.5 percent of their kind throughout China. Two of them have been listed as Worid Cultural Heritages, including the Yungang Grottos and Pingyao Ancient City. There are also five cities of historic and cultural significance, including Datong, Daixian, Pingyao, Qixian and Xinjiang. About 70 percent of China’s ancient wooden architectures dating back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and earlier are located in the province.

Shanxi is a place that boasts the most splendid Buddhist traditions in China. The province’s Wutai Mountain is known as one of the Four Most Famous Buddhist Mountains in China. Shanxi is also the birthplace of banking in China, evidenced by many famous residential compounds of Shanxi merchant families (including Wang’s, Qiao’s, Qu’s, Cao’s and Chang’s) and the Rishengchang Bank. As the ancestral home of the Chinese nation, Shanxi is where many Chinese surnames originated, and their descendants have spread around the country and even the world. It is also home to countless celebrities. Almost every county in Shanxi has its own folk music and dances. Therefore, Shanxi has been reputed as the Museum of Ancient Chinese Architecture, the Home of Banking in China, the Birthplace ofTraditional Chinese Operas, the Ocean of Folk Songs, and the Home of Folk Dances.

Moreover, Shanxi boasts magnificent and picturesque natural scenery. There are five state-class scenic resorts and 18 national forest parks. Local famous scenic spots include the Taihang Canyon, the sea of forests on Guancen Mountain, the Heavenly Lake, the 10,000-Year-Old Ice Cave, Mianshan Mountain and Hukou Waterfall, as well as Hengshan and Lishan Mountains.

The tiny town of Pingyao has become a firm travel favourite in recent times, and for good reason: its wall-bound core – almost entirely filled with traditional eighteenth- and nineteenth-century buildings – provides a step back in time. This is one of the most authentic, old towns in China, and it provides travellers with the chance to sleep on traditional Shanxi beds (kang), raised up on platforms, in charismatic old courtyard mansions. Despite the density of modern domestic tourism, take a few steps away from the restaurants and souvenir stands of the pedestrianized main streets, and you’re in another world. Throw in a couple of fine rural temples and some impressive fortified clan villages, all within day-trip distance, and staying overnight becomes a pleasurable necessity, rather than a possibility.

Lying at the foot of Wuzhou Mountain, 16 kilometers west of Datong City, the Yungang Grottos, together with the Dunhuang Grottos and Longmen Grottos, are referred to as the Three Most Famous Grottos of China, and have been put onto the World Cultural Heritage List. Spanning a kilometer from west to east, the Yungang Grottos consist of 45 caves and 1,100 niches that contain more than 50,000 stone statues. The No.3 Grotto is the biggest one, while the sitting statue of Buddha is the largest sculpture in Yungang. The best-preserved No.6 Grotto houses the most superb sculptures. Popularly called Wuhua Caves, the No.9-No.13 Grottos feature diverse subjects and high artistic value.

Located in Wutai County in northeastern Xinzhou, 230 kilometers north of Taiyuan City, the Wutai Mountain is regarded as the head of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains in China. There are preserved 48 temples, accommodating hundreds of monks and nuns. There are five major peaks. The Wanghai Peak in the east is an ideal place to see the sunrise; The Jinxiu Peak in the south is a sea of wild flowers; The Guayue Peak in the west is the best place to enjoy moonlight; The Yemen Peak in the north overlooks rolling hills in the distance; And the Cuiyan Peak in the middle boasts countless rocks. The highest Yemen Peak rises 3.058 meters and is deemed as the Roof of North China. A treasure of ancient architecture, sculpture and painting, the Wutai Mountain is famous for its long history, brilliant culture, old buildings and abundant cultural relics.

Yanmen Pass

Qiao's Compound

Mt. Taihang Canyou

Tuan Fan Dance

Sliced Noodles

05. Shaanxi Province

Shaanxi, “Qin” for short, is located in the inland of China’, and is an important hub connecting the eastern and central regions and the northwest and southwest of China.

The territory of Shaanxi is narrow. The terrain is high in the north and south, low in the middle. From north to south, there are three landforms including Shanbei Plateau, Guanzhong Plain, and Qin-Ba Mountain. The main mountains include the Qinling Mountains, the Daba Mountains and so on.

Shaanxi stretches across three climatic zones, and the climate in the north and south is quite different. The temperature decreases from south to north and from east to west. The rainfall is more in the south than in the north. Shannan is a humid region. Guanzhong a semi-humid region, and Shanbei a semiarid region.

The province belonged to the Yongzhou and Liangzhou in ancient times, also known as the “Land of Three Qin.” With a long history, it is ancient and mysterious, known as “the natural history museum.” The Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Famen Temple, Xi’an City Wall and other cultural relics can all be found here. There are 72 ancient imperial tombs here.

Shaanxi folk culture is splendid and rich and includes the Shaanxi shadow play, Qinqiang, Shanbei Yangge, Shaanxi puppetry, Ansai waist drum, as well as Shaanxi farmer painting, Ansai paper-cutting, Dali crispy noodles, Ganjing Town crispy noodles and other folk arts.

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, located in the West Branch of Great Maternal Grace Temple, was built to store the scriptures and Buddha statues brought back by monk Xuanzang from India in the Tang Dynasty. It is a seven-storey pavilion-style black-brick tower, composed of two parts: the tower foundation and the tower body.

Xi’an Ancient City Wall is China’s best preserved ”defense” strategy, and includes moat, drawbridge, gate building, watchtower and other tightly organized military facilities.

Shaanxi province is remarkable for the depth and breadth of its history, best exemplifed in the provincial capital, Xi’an: famed for the renowned Terracotta Army to the east, it was used as a dynastic capital over the course of 2000 years. Mysterious terracotta figures aside, there’s other evidence of the city’s former glories, in the shape of the tomb of the great emperor Qin Shi Huang, and a host of nearby temples and museums; it’s a far bigger, busier place than many visitors expect, and perhaps the country’s most cosmopolitan city outside the eastern seaboard.

Terracotta Warriors and Horses

Mount Hua

Shaanxi History Museum

Xifu Paper Cutting

Fufeng Deer Cake Bun

06. Gansu Province

Gansu Province is on the upper reaches of the Yellow River in northwest China and at the juncture of the Loess Plateau, Inner Mongolia Plateau and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It lies at 32°11′-42°57′ north latitude and 92°13′-108°46′ east longitude. It borders Shaanxi in the east, Ningxia in the northeast, Sichuan in the south, Qinghai and Xinjiang in the west, and Inner Mongolia in the north. Also it borders, the People’s Republic of Mongolia. Gansu covers an area of 454,000 square kilometers, ranking the seventh in the country. It has 12 cities and two prefecture: Lanzhou, Jiayuguan, Jinchang, Baiyin, Tianshui, Wuwei Zhangve, Jiuquan, Pingliang, Qingyang, Dingxi and cities, and Linxia Hui and Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefectures, with Lanzhou as its capital city.

Gansu lies on the “Silk Road” and on the way to experience the Yellow River customs and Qinghai-Tibet tourist route. It has a long history, a brilliant culture and a variety of tourist resources. In addition, it is the birthplace of China’s farming civilization. Since the Han and fang dynasties, Gansu has become a golden section of the “Silk Road” through which China carried out cultural and trade exchanges with other countries and regions. So it boasts rich cultural sites, including the world-known Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, the magnificent Jiayuguan Pass, the discovered rare bamboo slips from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – A.D. 220), the magnificent and splendid Labrang Monastery and ancient Great Wall sections built in the Qin, Han and Ming periods. All these attract both the Chinese and foreign visitors with their unique fascination.

Gansu illustrates great varieties of landforms and wonderful natural landscapes and is attractive for its beautiful and unique scenes of Gobi Oasis, deserts, glaciers, snow-covered mountains, forests, grasslands, Yadan and Danxia landforms.

Since ancient times, Gansu is a province many ethnic people have lived. Today it has a population of over 25.58 million. By the end of 2007, among the ethnic groups 16 have a population of more than 1,000 including Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Tu, Yugar, Bao’an, Mongolian, Salar, Kazakh and Manchu. of them, Dongxiang, Yugur and Bao’an are peculiar ethnic groups of Gansu Province. All these ethnic groups have different habits and customs in their wedding and funerary ceremonies, festivals, celebrations, dieting, living and other cultural activities, reflecting colorful ethnic features.

In the southeast corner of Jingtai County, Baiyin City, Yellow River Stone Forest grew up some 2.1 million years ago. Such unique and fantastic stone forests are resulted from the movement of the earth’s crust, weathering and other geographical functions.

Lying on the middle section of Binhe Road, the Statue of Mother Yellow River is the most beautiful one among all the sculptures reflecting the Yellow River, the mother river of China. This statue symbolizes the indomitable mother river which cultivates the Chinese nation and its happy descendants who are growing sturdily.

One of China’s key scenic spots, Mingsha Hill and Crescent-Moon Spring exist harmoniously and constitute a miracle wrought by nature in the desert. The Mingsha Hill has a knife-like ridge and emits a humming sound at the mere touch of a foot. The spring got its name for its crescent-moon shape. Under the sunset glow, the visitors can listen to the sweet sound made by the bells around the camel neck. This scenic area is an ideal place for Chinese and foreign tourists to enjoy the desert scenery.

Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang

Water Wheel Garden

Giant Buddha Temple in Zhangye

Dream of Dunhuang

Yellow Noodles With Donkey Meat

07. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, also called Ning for short, is one of China’s five autonomous regions for ethnic minorities. It has a population of 5.6155 million, more than one-third of whom are the Hui people while the rest being of 20 other ethnic groups, including Han, Manchu, Mongolia, Korea, and Dongxiang. Located in the eastern part of Northwest China, Ningxia borders Shaanxi Province in the east, Gansu Province in the south, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the north. Covering an area of 51,800 square kilometers, it features a diverse topography. It has the precipitous Helan Mountains in the northwest, the vast Tengger Desert in the west, the tree-carpeted Liupan Mountains in the south, and the Ordos Basin, about 1,100 meters above sea level, in the northeast.

Ningxia abounds in energy sources and enjoys exceptional advantages in coal and water conservancy. It greatly benefits from the Yellow River, which runs 397 kilometers through the autonomous region and irrigates more than 300,000 hectares of farmlands. Its major crops are wheat and rice, and its economic crops include sugar beet, medlar, sesame, melons and fruit. Its animal husbandry is prosperous. The Ningxia Beach Sheepskin has won a worldwide fame.

Ningxia has a long history. As early as the late Paleolithic Age, man began to live here. During the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.), in order to defend the nation from the invasion of northern nomadic people, the emperor ordered the construction of the Great Wall in this area, and in order to develop agriculture, people dug channels and thus started Ningxia’s history of drawing water from the Yellow River for irrigation. Since then, Ningxia has been noted for its scenery that can match that south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Dangxiang Tribe rose and gradually expanded its strength to be equal to the Song. In 1038, its chieftain, Li Yuanhao, formally came to throne and founded the Xia Kingdom. He established capital in Xingqingfu (present-day Yinchuan), set up an official system, and created characters of its own. Occupying the northwestern regions, Xia confronted Song, Liao, and Jin for a period until 1227, when it was perished by Genghis Khan. During the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), the court opened Ningxia Road here, starting the name of Ningxia. Then, the Ming court set Ningxia Defence, and the Qing court set Ningxia Prefecture. On October 25,1958, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was established. At present, it governs four prefecturelevel cities, two county-level cities, and 15 counties.

Home of the Hui ethnic group, Ningxia is widely inhabited by the Hui people, who are famous for their diligence, intelligence, and cleanliness. The Huis believe in Islam and strictly observe the religious customs. They mostly use the Han language, except for a few erudite imams who are well versed in Arabian language. In their daily speaking； they occasionally use a few Arabian or Persian words or phrases.

In Ningxia, mosques can be found in every large Hui communities.

Men of the Hui group like to wear white or black edgeless caps. In hot weather, they wear a white shirt inside and a black gown outside, with clear white-and-black distinction. Women cover their heads with veils, so as not to reveal their hair, ears, and necks. According to their ages and marital status, the veils vary in color. Generally, the elderly wear white veils and the middle- aged wear black veils, while young girls or single women wear green veils.

Parallel with the 13 Ming Tombs in Beijing in scale, the mausoleum complex are burial place of the nine kings of Western Xia and 207 imperial relatives and meritorious officials who were buried together with the kings. Each of the mausoleums is a complete architecture, consisting of watchtowers, holy walls, stele pavilions, and sacrificial halls.

At the mountain foot of Helan some 50 kilometers from Yinchuan, there are tens of thousands of paintings carved by ancient nomadic tribes on cliffs and rocks, dating to 6,000 years ago. The paintings are mostly devoted to human faces, handprints, and hunting and sacrificing images, as well as various animals.

Situated at the southwestern corner of the Xingqing District of Yinchuan, the temple has a history of more than 930 years and is a famous shrine of Buddhism. Featuring an ancient, simple design, the pagoda towers in the temple, with halls arranged in the front and behind. The Ningxia Museum in the temple displays the historical documents, Helan Mountain cliff paintings, and Hui folk customs.