Ningxia & Shaanxi: Wave Canyon, Tongwan Ancient City, Yanchi Great Wall, and Sarawusu Gorge (5 days)
Hike by both archeological and geological history with a trip that touches Ningxia, Shaanxi, and a little bit of Inner Mongolia. Highlights include a visit to the ‘Wave Canyon’ landform, an 8km hike that follows Ming-era Great Wall between forts on the plains by Yanchi, a hike in the Sarawusu Gorge, plus visits to Tongwan Ancient City, the One Hundred and Eight Pagodas, and more.
This trip is not currently scheduled
| Day One main activities | Meet up in Yinchuan. 3-4 hour hike following Ming-era Great Wall between old forts. Overnight in Yanchi, Ningxia. |
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| Day Two main activities | Morning and afternoon hikes in the Wave Canyon Landform area. Overnight in Jingbian, Shaanxi. |
| Day Three main activities | 3-4 hour hike to Tongwan Ancient City, afternoon exploration of Tongwang Ancient City ruins. Overnight in Jingbian. |
| Day Four main activities | Hike the Sarawusu Grand Canyon, walking tour of Youzhou Ancient City. Overnight in Yinchuan. |
| Day Five main activities | Visits to the One Hundred and Eight Stupas and surrounding area, trip finishes in Yinchuan. |
Highlights
Yanchi Great Wall hike
A different kind of Great Wall hike compared to what we do in Beijing, with a low rammed-earth wall leading us between old forts and camps on a flat plain.
‘Wave Canyon’ Landform
‘Wave Canyon’ is an area of wave-shaped rocks with ripples, very reminiscent of the Instagram-famous canyons in Arizona, USA. We’ll visit two different parts of the landform.
Tongwan Ancient City
Castle-like rammed earth walls show the outline of what was the capital of the Xia State, a minor dynasty during the Sixteen Kingdoms period (304-439 AD). The last mention of Tongwan in official dynastic records was in the early 1400s, and the site was left mostly untouched until the 1990s.
Sarawusu Gorge
A river canyon carved out of the loess plateau, flowing through a mix of scenery including grassland and desert. We’ll do a hike that follows the river through the sandy loess landscape.
And more …
Also in the itinerary: Youzhou Ancient City, Gaoping Fort, Huamachi Ancient City, One Hundred and Eight Pagodas, Yellow River Altar, Bronze Canyon.
Getting to Yinchuan and back home again
You’ll meet your guides at the Yinchuan Airport before midday on the first day of the trip.
The itinerary will finish in Yinchuan on the last day of the trip, and we plan to drop you off at the airport around 5pm.
Please do not purchase your flights until we are able to confirm the departure of the trip.
