Shapotou Tourist Guide in Zhongwei

Shapotou is a 5A-level scenic area, attracting a large number of tourists every year. As the best place for desert culture and entertainment, the sand dunes and desert entertainment facilities here are very powerful. Below is a travel guide for Shapotou in Zhongwei.

A little beauty like the wind

“Dad, Dad, where are we going?, I’m not afraid of anything with you…”

Do you remember the first season of “Where Are We Going, Dad”? Do you remember the scene of the five children, including Sendie, riding skateboards and sliding down from the high sand slope? The joy and refreshing feeling must have touched many people.

Four years later, Xiaoyu packed her bags and went north, finally arriving at the beautiful exotic place: Shapotou in Zhongwei County, Ningxia. It turns out that this stop was not a mistake, the tourism recommendation index is definitely five stars.

So, how to get to Shapotou? How to play in Shapotou? As a “senior” Xiaoyu, I’m here to “teach” you!

First, how to get to Shapotou?

To get to a place, you first need to know where it is. Shapotou is a scenic area located 20 kilometers west of Zhongwei County, Ningxia, on the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert. Because it borders the Yellow River, it has formed a unique scenery of sand and water.

Shapotou is a very important tourism scenic area in Zhongwei, and even in Ningxia. Therefore, it is relatively convenient to get to Shapotou. Xiaoyu’s route was to fly to Yinchuan first and play for three days, then take a train to Zhongwei, which takes about three hours. Stay overnight in Zhongwei County, sleep until you wake up naturally the next day, then hail a taxi and go straight to Shapotou.

Tips: No matter where you are, as long as you go to a tourist attraction, taxi drivers will definitely overcharge you, and Xiaoyu is no exception. Of course, the smart Xiaoyu had already done her homework and managed to get the price down from 80 to 30. The normal price is 20 to 30 yuan, just keep that in mind.

So, besides hailing a taxi, what other convenient ways are there to get to Shapotou? The answer is: Take a tourist bus or a bus. As for which method or route to choose, you can check the bus station or ask local residents, there are quite a few buses.

Second, how to play Shapotou?

1. How to buy tickets?

The first thing you will face when entering a scenic area is the issue of tickets. Shapotou’s tickets are divided into entrance tickets and tickets for various entertainment projects. In other words, you need to buy tickets to enter, and you need to buy tickets to play.

The adult entrance ticket is 100 yuan, and tickets for various entertainment projects need to be purchased separately, such as the sightseeing car pass for 30 yuan, sand sliding for 40 yuan, bungee jumping for 160 yuan, and desert bus for 150 yuan. I’m just giving these examples to express one word: expensive! What to do? Buy combo tickets online! You can buy them on platforms like Meituan, Ctrip, Tmall… The prices seem to be the same, so you can choose the platform and combo ticket form according to your preference.

A list of some combo tickets

Xiaoyu purchased combo ticket one: seven projects + surfing car. It includes a sightseeing car pass, round-trip desert camel tickets, tickets for desert escalator, sand sliding, speedboat, sheepskin raft, surfing car, etc. for one-time play. By the way, entrance tickets can also be purchased online for 90 yuan.

It’s a bit of a scam, each project in the scenic area can only be played once, definitely not enough. If you are particularly interested in a certain project and want to play it again, you can choose to buy other combo tickets or single tickets.

2. Travel route

Shapotou is divided into two zones: the Yellow River zone and the desert zone. First, we enter from the east gate and step into the Yellow River zone, where you will see the scenic area’s map. So, can we play in sequence according to the map?

Of course you can, but it’s a bit of a hassle. Because the entire scenic area includes water projects, high-altitude projects, and desert projects, since each project can only be played once, what kind of transportation to use, what to play first, and what to play next, all need careful planning. What if you get the order wrong? Either buy single tickets or walk a bit further!

According to the combo ticket Xiaoyu purchased, Xiaoyu planned a travel route to take the speedboat to the opposite bank of the Yellow River first, then take the escalator to the desert. As a girl from the south, it was the first time I saw the golden, fine sand under the scorching sun, I was so excited, so I immediately took off my shoes and walked barefoot all the way. This is just the desert in the Yellow River zone, when I entered the desert zone, I was completely boiling over.

I believe you are more interested in the desert zone, right? So we’ll skip all the projects in the Yellow River zone and take the electric car to the desert zone directly!

The Silk Road in the desert zone

On the way to the camel farm by electric car, you will see towering sand dunes, which are simply a feast for the eyes and a cleansing for the soul. You will feel that the world is no longer crowded with tall buildings, but is close to nature, dancing with the sand; you will feel that the surroundings are no longer monotonous, but have come to a foreign land, stepping on the ancient Silk Road; you will find yourself, with no distractions, no other thoughts. This place is simply magical.

Okay, feeling this wonderful sense, Xiaoyu got on a camel and ventured deep into the desert.

Then it’s time for various poses and pictures. When I got tired, I went to ride the surfing car, flying up and down on the high and low sand dunes. This kind of flying is satisfying for children, but for Xiaoyu, who disdains even roller coasters, it’s just a piece of cake. However, the sand scenery along the way was pretty good.

According to the combo ticket, this is all you can play in the desert zone. You can also choose desert off-roading, desert bus, CS field, etc. according to your preferences, you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Then we return to the Yellow River zone.

First, take pictures, take pictures with pigeons. Why emphasize this? Because the pigeons in the Yellow River zone are particularly bold, as long as you have food in your hand, they will all come running, vying to stand on your hand to eat, no matter how you touch them or play with them, they won’t fly away. These greedy little guys will definitely look beautiful in photos!

After that, sand sliding, yes, the sand slope from “Where Are We Going, Dad”. Sitting on a board, you slide down from the top of an 80-meter high, 200-meter long sand slope, super exciting and super fun! Of course, you can’t miss the zip line here, but you have to climb back up from the bottom of the sand slope, it’s tiring just thinking about it, so Xiaoyu gave up, which also means that Xiaoyu, who doesn’t want to walk too much, also gave up bungee jumping. A small regret.

Then we can take a sheepskin raft. It’s a raft made of inflated sheepskin.

Sheepskin raft

Including the boatman, five people per raft, a group of five or six sheepskin rafts, drifting slowly from one bank to the other, listening to the boatmen singing loudly, it’s a different kind of experience.

When the singing stopped, the sheepskin rafts also reached their destination: the place where we first took the speedboat.

What does that mean?

Yes, the tour is about to end. When we walked into the 3D cinema and watched the movie, then walked out of the east gate, this wonderful journey came to an end.

Sigh: It was worth it, but I didn’t play enough!

Third, travel tips for Shapotou

1. Please leave enough time for this scenic area, one to two days is ideal.

2. Taking a taxi from Zhongwei to Shapotou costs between 20 and 30 yuan, you can directly reject the ride if it’s over 30 yuan.

3. Prepare sunscreen items such as umbrellas, sunscreen, sun hats, sunglasses, etc. Drink plenty of water.

4. The sand under the scorching sun is very hot, if you don’t want to get burnt feet, it’s recommended not to walk barefoot all the time.

5. Don’t let tour groups restrict your freedom, because this is a place where you can completely travel freely.

6. Next stop on the journey: Xi’an. I’ll share with you what’s delicious and fun there as soon as I find out!

Finally, here is a picture of Xiaoyu sand sliding. I wish you all a happy time!