Perhaps the most striking thing about Yinchuan is the sense of negative space; the lack of things which are a common sight in other provincial capitals (such as Nanjing). The centre of town does not feature a McDonald’s, the supermarkets are small and stock far less international goods or big brands.
也许银川最引人注目的是负空间感；缺乏在其他省会（如南京）常见的事物。 市中心没有麦当劳，超市很小，库存的国际商品或大品牌要少得多。
Most noticeable to westerners will be the lack of confectionary, such as chocolate.
西方人最引人注目的是缺乏糖果，比如巧克力。
But here’s the kicker. There’s also a definite sense of loss, of faded splendour. Nowhere is this felt more clearly than at the site of the Western Xia tombs (西夏 王陵) where a once splendid kingdom was destroyed by the might of one Genghis Khan.
但这就是关键。 也有一种明显的失落感，一种褪色的辉煌感。 没有比西夏王陵遗址更清楚地感受到这一点的地方了，在那里，一个曾经辉煌的王国被成吉思汗的力量摧毁了。
Vast honeycomb-like structures stand like lone centenaries in the desert landscape, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Helan (贺兰) mountains, which separate Ningxia from neighboring Inner Mongolia. For such a historically significant site, there’s not much information in English, but using the “translate” function on WeChat or another app gives visitors a rough idea of what they’re seeing.
巨大的蜂窝状结构像孤独的百年纪念一样矗立在沙漠景观中，以贺兰山脉的戏剧性背景为背景，贺兰山脉将宁夏与邻近的内蒙古隔开。 对于这样一个具有历史意义的网站来说，英文信息不多，但使用微信或其他应用程序上的“翻译”功能让访问者大致了解他们所看到的内容。
Despite the fact that Golden Week is one of the most popular times of year for travel, I saw few other foreigners in Yinchuan, and in general most locals will presume that you are either American or Russian. Unlike some of the bigger cities, Yinchuan is a place where it really pays to be able to speak conversational Chinese, or at least have access to a couple of good instant translation apps.
尽管黄金周是一年中最受欢迎的旅游时间之一，但我在银川很少看到其他外国人，一般来说，大多数当地人会认为你是美国人或俄罗斯人。 与一些大城市不同，银川是一个能够说汉语会话的真正值得的地方，或者至少可以访问几个好的即时翻译应用程序。
In many ways, Yinchuan is the stereotypical “other”; the opposite of China’s well-developed and comparatively cosmopolitan east coast. The architecture in places resembles the Middle East much more than the traditional Han style buildings, and there are several striking mosques as well as the usual collection of pagodas and temples. Evocative of the city’s past as a Silk Road trading depot, cheap dried fruit and nuts can be purchased in small, family-run shops.
在许多方面，银川是刻板的“其他”；与中国发达且相对国际化的东海岸相反。 一些地方的建筑比传统的汉式建筑更像中东，还有几座引人注目的清真寺以及通常的宝塔和寺庙。 令人回味着这座城市作为丝绸之路贸易仓库的过去，廉价的干果和坚果可以在家庭经营的小商店里买到。
The cost of food and public transport alone should be a major draw for tourists to visit, a bowl of noodles (with the most common variety being Lanzhoumian/ 兰州面) will set you back less than ¥10, whilst a bus across the city to visit the sites of the old town (xingqing; 兴庆) costs only ¥1-2 per journey!
仅食物和公共交通的费用就应该吸引游客参观，一碗面条（最常见的品种是兰州面/兰州面）花费不到10元，而乘坐巴士穿过城市参观老城区（兴庆；兴庆）每次只需1-2日元！
Spending a couple of days in Yinchuan is one of the best ways to authentically experience the culture of the Hui minority (回民族). Fresh flatbreads are baked on street corners, shops stock modest clothing, and most restaurants have elegantly arranged mutton as their specialty. Other unique products from the province include wolfberry (枸杞) snacks and medicinal “eight treasures” (八宝茶) tea.
在银川度过几天是真实体验回民族文化的最佳方式之一。 新鲜的扁面包在街角烤制，商店里有适度的服装，大多数餐厅都以优雅的羊肉作为他们的特色菜。 该省的其他独特产品包括枸杞零食和药用“八宝茶”茶。
Ningxia in general is much more accessible than most people think, with the flight time from Nanjing to Yinchuan being just two and a half hours, the same duration as a flight to Shenzhen.
总的来说，宁夏的交通比大多数人想象的要容易得多，从南京到银川的飞行时间只有两个半小时，与飞往深圳的航班相同。
There’s a convenient airport bus which takes passengers into the center of the old town, although Yinchuan doesn’t have a metro. Another noticeable difference when compared to travelling in other regions in China is the lack of visible travel agents; most day trips and tours here are arranged through contacts, although several travel blogs also recommend different WeChat accounts for this purpose. This definitely adds to the experience though, as hiring a local guide on the ground offers the chance to find hidden gems and take useful shortcuts through the traffic!
虽然银川没有地铁，但有一辆方便的机场巴士将乘客带到老城区的中心。 与在中国其他地区旅行相比，另一个明显的区别是缺乏可见的旅行社；这里的大多数一日游和旅游都是通过联系人安排的，尽管一些旅游博客也为此推荐不同的微信账号。 不过，这肯定会增加体验，因为在当地聘请当地导游提供了寻找隐藏的宝石的机会，并在交通中走有用的捷径！
For everything unfamiliar about Yinchuan, there are also the things that it has in common with other Chinese cities. Socialising in the evenings takes place in the square by the drum tower (鼓楼), along with the normal “square dancing” (广场跳舞). Yet Yinchuan offers something that a lot of other Chinese cities don’t: room to breathe.
对于银川的一切不熟悉，它也与中国其他城市有共同点。 晚上的社交活动在鼓楼旁的广场上进行，还有正常的“广场舞”。 然而，银川提供了许多其他中国城市所没有的东西：喘息的空间。