Ruins of the Western Xia Temporary Palace at Dashuigou

　　Head north along National Highway 110 to Shangmiao Township in Pingluo County, then take the west-side road up to the entrance of Dashuigou in the Helan Mountains. On the right side of the valley entrance stands an earthen platform 66 meters high and 133.2 meters wide at the base, which locals call "General Mu Guiying’s Command Platform." Experts have confirmed that this is the site of a temporary palace built by Li Yuanhao of the Western Xia period. Beneath the ruins, Western Xia coin hoards and numerous architectural components such as bricks and tiles have been unearthed multiple times. About 1 kilometer into the mountain pass lies a Ming Dynasty Great Wall that remains largely intact. Three kilometers away is the site of an ancient temple known as "Shangmiao," with rock paintings left by ancient nomadic peoples found in many surrounding areas. A mountain spring at the valley entrance flows year-round, and the steep, lush mountains offer fresh air—making it a great spot for hiking and outdoor trips.

　　According to historical records: after ascending the throne, Li Yuanhao not only greatly expanded the capital Xingqing Prefecture (now Yinchuan), but also undertook massive construction projects on the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains, building numerous temporary palaces and temples along various mountain passes, described as “stretching for hundreds of li.” Archaeological evidence confirms that from south to north along the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains—from Gongzhongkou, Huangqikou, Baisisikou to Dashuigoukou—there are abundant Western Xia architectural ruins, among which Dashuigou is the largest temporary palace site of the Western Xia.

　　The ruins of the Western Xia Temporary Palace are located on both sides of the entrance to Dashuigou and can be reached by traveling about ten kilometers north from Sand Lake. The site stretches 4 kilometers from north to south. The Pingluo County Annals record: “The Western Xia Temporary Palace located beside Dashuigou at Xiama in Pingluo was majestic, featuring over ten architectural terraces, each around 100 meters long, 70 meters wide, and about 12 meters above ground level.” Today, dozens of these terraces still remain. From atop the hills, one can still make out the grand, splendid, and luxurious scale of the site in its heyday. At the Western Xia Temporary Palace ruins, when looking back at the mountains behind, four Buddha-like figures appear to emerge and fade. Roughly 3 kilometers in front of the palace, on the mountainside, lies an abandoned north-south canal—the Liwang Canal. Heading about 3 kilometers west into Dashuigou, there is a temple called Shangmiao. Outside the valley in Shangmiao Township lies another temple known as Xiama. As the saying goes, where there is an upper, there is a lower—one mirroring the other in symmetry.