银川市灵武水洞沟旅游景区Shuidonggou Tourist Area

银川市灵武水洞沟旅游景区

水洞沟旅游区位于灵武市临河镇，地处银川河东旅游带的核心部位，占地面积7.8平方公里。水洞沟是中国最早发掘的旧石器时代文化遗址，被誉为“中国史前考古的发祥地”、“中西方文化交流的历史见证”。被国家列为全国文物保护的100处大遗址之一、"最具中华文明意义的百项考古发现"之一。

水洞沟遗址记录了远古人类繁衍生息，同大自然搏斗的历史见证，蕴藏着丰富而珍贵的史前资料。它向人们展示了距今三万年前古人类的生存画卷，是迄今为止在黄河地区唯一经过正式发掘的旧石器时代遗址。

水洞沟地处鄂尔多斯台地南缘，大自然造就的雅丹地貌，使这里充满了雄浑、奇特的荒谷神韵。经历了千万年的风沙雕蚀，这里集中了魔鬼城、卧驼岭、摩天崖、断云谷、柽柳沟等20多处土林奇绝景观，使人望而生奇，大有地老天荒、旷古玄远之叹。

水洞沟旅游区有3公里长的芦花谷，芦花谷内芦苇摇曳生姿，让人陶醉在那苇荡丛中。湖泊面积近30万平方米，其中鸳鸯湖上修有原生态木桥4座，凉亭两处，是休闲娱乐的好去处。在游船上观赏雄伟的古长城，别有一番情趣。下船登上码头，又来到景区内的沙枣湾。这里沙枣树丛生，六七月份沙枣花开的时候，那一阵阵的清香又让游客流连忘返。

水洞沟地区又是中国北方明代古长城、烽燧、城堡、沟堑、墩台等军事防御建筑大观园。旅游区的明长城为土夯长城，是宁夏境内相对保存最完整的一段长城遗址。旅游区内还保留着一段水岸长城。穿过芦花谷，就到了水洞沟旅游区面积最大的一个天然湖泊－水域面积达1.8平方公里的红山湖。水岸长城依山傍水、借助高15米至18米的大峡谷和独特的藏兵洞、守军城堡构成立体军事防御体系。这也是水洞沟旅游区的一大独特的亮点。

Shuidonggou Tourist Area, Lingwu of Yinchuan

The Shuidonggou Tourist Area is located in Linhe Town, Lingwu City, at the core of the Yinchuan Hedong Tourist Belt, covering an area of 7.8 square kilometers. Shuidonggou is the earliest Paleolithic cultural site excavated in China, known as the "birthplace of the prehistoric archaeology in China" and "the historical witness of the cultural exchanges between China and the West". It is listed by the state as one of the 100 major cultural relics under national protection and one of the "100 most significant archaeological discoveries of the Chinese civilization".

Shuidonggou records the historical witness of the ancient human reproduction and struggle with nature, and contains rich and precious prehistoric data. It shows the picture of the existence of the ancient human beings 30,000 years ago, and is the only Paleolithic site in the Yellow River area that has been officially excavated so far.

Shuidonggou is located at the southern edge of the Ordos platform. The Yardang created by nature makes it full of vigorous and unique charm of wild valleys. After thousands of years of sand erosion, it has a collection of more than 20 unique landscapes, such as the Devil City, Crouching Camel Ridge, Sky Cliff, Cloud Breaking Valley, Tamarix Valley, which make people feel curious while look at them, and sigh for the remote, profound and long lasting world.

The Shuidonggou Tourist Area has a 3-kilometer-long Reed Catkins Valley, where the reeds sway and flourish, allowing people revel in the reeds. The lakes cover an area of nearly 300,000 square meters, with four original wooden bridges and two pavilions built on the Mandarin Duck Lake, making it a good place for leisure and entertainment. Watching the magnificent ancient Great Wall on a cruise ship is of special interest. Getting off the cruise ship and boarding the dock, you come to the Narrow-leaved Oleaster Bay in the scenic area. In the bay, there are numerous narrow-leaved oleaster trees. When the trees bloom in June and July, the refreshing fragrance makes tourists linger on with no thought of leaving.

The Shuidonggou area is also a showplace of the military defense structures such as the Ming Dynasty Great Wall, beacon towers, castles, trenches and piers in the northern China. The Ming Great Wall in the tourist area is the earth-rammed Great Wall, which is relatively the most intact section of the Great Wall site in Ningxia. There is also a section of the waterfront Great Wall in the tourist area. Going through the Reed Catkins Valley, you will reach the Hongshan Lake with a water area of 1.8 square kilometers, the largest natural lake in the Shuidonggou Tourist Area. The waterfront Great Wall is close to the mountain and beside the water. It forms a three-dimensional military defense system with the help of the 15-18 meter high Grand Canyon, the unique caves for hiding soldiers and the garrison castle. This is also a unique highlight of the Shuidonggou Tourist Area.