No. 43: Haibaota Temple, Yinchuan, Ningxia

(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on December 3, 2012.)

Haibaota Temple (海宝塔寺) in the Hui (回族) city of Yinchuan, Ningxia (宁夏, 银川市),
is named for the unusually-designed Haibao ("Sea Treasure") Pagoda (海宝塔).

October 19, 2010 - A short hour-and-fifteen minute flight from Xi'an took me to Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia. I only had one night, so I wasted no time: I dropped my bags at my motel and headed north to Haibaota ("Sea Treasure Pagoda") Temple. The crystalline blue sky and dusty roads were sure signs that I was as close as my pilgrimage would take me to the great western deserts of Gansu and beyond.