Helan

Helan County sits at the eastern foot of the Helan Mountains in the Yellow River plain, administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Yinchuan, the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Its economy blends irrigated agriculture and dairy farming with, above all, the county's role as the historic heartland of Ningxia's fast-growing wine industry, with vineyards across the Helan Mountain east-foothill appellation producing prize-winning Cabernet Sauvignon and other reds now exported worldwide. Higher education is concentrated in nearby Yinchuan, home to Ningxia University and several other institutions that Helan residents commute to or attend after graduating from local secondary schools. The county is also rich in heritage, preserving thousands of ancient rock carvings at the Helan Mountain petroglyph site, the twin Buddhist pagodas of Baisikou, and the forested hiking trails of Suyukou National Forest Park in the mountains above. Close to the regional capital yet still rural in character, Helan gives visitors an easy, low-cost introduction to Ningxia's wine country and its blend of Hui and Han agricultural traditions.