Yinchuan is blessed with an intriguing mix of natural and cultural sights, all of which combine to make it a memorable city for visitors. It's a quiet and leafy city that does not have the sheer number of attractions found in places such as Beijing or Shanghai, but a visitor can certainly find enough to keep them busy for a few days.

Nanguan Mosque and Najiahu Mosque are two of the most famous out of an estimated 2000 Hui mosques in the Ningxia Province. Nanguan Mosque is a modern building built in an Arabic style on an ancient Islamic site, providing a contrast with Najiahu Mosque's older, traditional courtyard style Chinese architecture.

Yinchuan has several museums, including the West Xia Museum and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Museum as well as several art galleries displaying and selling local art such as Ningxia Muyunge Art Gallery. Most museums in the area concentrate on the local culture of the various ethnicities in the area. One notable exception to this rule is Western Film & TV City, which is worth a visit for film buffs. Yinchuan can also offer UNESCO protected ancient cultural relics at Helan Mountain and or the decaying ruins of the West Xia Imperial Tombs (known as the Oriental Pyramids).

The variety and beauty displayed in Yinchuan's landscape draws many visitors. It is possible to enjoy singing sand-dunes and fragrant fruit orchards at Shapotou, cool waterfalls at Yinchuan Suyukou Forest Park, mountain climbing at the snow-capped Qingyangliu Mountain and a long drift down the Yellow River on a sheepskin raft in the space of a single visit. The wildlife which inhabits Yinchuan is equally as diverse: if you fancy spotting giant salamanders, blunt-snout bream or Mandarin ducks, Yinchuan is the place to do it! Helan Mountain & Suyukou Forest Park are worthy of long & extensive exploration, but anyone preferring a more gentle introduction to nature should simply read through a list of the scenic spots in Zhongshan Park, which includes such delightfully named sights as ''Pavilion in the Twilight of the Setting Sun'', ''Autumn Grass Swaying atop Ancient Walls'', ''Boat Moored to Waterside Pavilion in Moonlight'' and ''Tolling Bell in Communion with the Moon''.

As with many Chinese cities, Yinchuan is home to a calendar of festivals and cultural displays. If possible, visitors should time their visit to coincide with these festive times when the city comes to life. Many take place around the Jade Emperor Pavilion, but some such as Hua'er and the Islamic Eid festivals (Eid ul Filr and Eid ul Adhia) are celebrated city-wide. There is even an annual motorcycle festival.