Desert sun pours over the Yinchuan Plain on most days, and the earthen mounds of the Western Xia tombs glow honey-colored against the gray Helan Mountains. In town the light picks out smaller things, like the green tip of Chengtian Pagoda, the red doors of Yuhuang Pavilion and steam curling from a plate of hand-grabbed mutton.
Beyond the old center, lakes and wetlands thread through the city, and the Zhenbeibu film studio turns two old forts into a stage. Days are mostly dry and sunny, with short hot summers and long cold winters. A Local Friend knows when to leave early for the tombs and when to linger by a lake until the sky turns gold.
