About 3-4 hours from ningxia city, this is a tourist wonderland in the desert next to the Yellow... read more
About 3-4 hours from ningxia city, this is a tourist wonderland in the desert next to the Yellow... read more
The area is separated into two - a desert zone and a river zone. There is an entrance ticket to... read more
We were looking forward to an experience in the desert but Shapotou was disappointing. We paid 100 Yuan per person to enter, but then needed to pay extra to do anything once inside. 10 Y per person for the golf cart to get to the sand slide; 40 Y per person for the cable car; 20 Y per person to get to the camels; 80 Y for the camel ride, etc etc. It was our most expensive day in Ningxia by at least double.
The bathrooms look new but smelled disgusting.
Shapotou Tourist Area is very large, looks very new, from toilets to all the gates. Very few people were there in April 2013. Entrance ticket 90 Yuan. If you take boat for river trip on the left, buy ticket. We didn’t so we walk to the right to take bus for 20 Yuan to reach another gate. Keep this return ticket so you can go back later. Here you’ll see the gorgeous high sand hill looking like a wall. They have lift and ropeway for you to go up for 20 to 30 Yuan. Many people just walk up. We walked too. Was a bit tired when you’re almost at the top. Wear sports shoes as the sand is hot in the afternoon. When you finish the whole tour, they have sand sliding down for 20 Yuan. You also can hold something which looks like 2 electric wires to slide down crossing the river. Can’t recall how much.
From this gate, you buy another ticket for 10 Yuan to reach Camel Riding Area. Keep the bus ticket for the return trip. Camel riding 80 Yuan both ways. I suggest you buy one way for 50 Yuan. Reason is: after the 1st ride, camels bring you to a stop so you can walk around to take pictures. There’s a tall wooden house for you to go up for better view. We didn’t so we missed the view. Here you can buy tickets for bumping cars to go further on sand hills. When you finish, walk to the place to take the camels back. This trip is too short so I recommend you just walk. Bring a few water bottles with you as I think I didn’t see anyone selling water. Bring your hats and wear long sleeves to protect your skin from the sun. If you go late April and you often feel cold, bring a light jacket as the wind is strong in some places. But by the time you exit the gate, you will feel hot. When you sit on the camel, wearing your backpack is better than wearing your handbag. You need a free hand to take photos. They’ll ask the camel to sit down for you to sit on her back. Hold the rail tight. When the camel stands up, don’t be panic because you’ll move back & forth. It’s a sudden move and you may fall down if you don’t hold the rail tight. The camel is very big and it’s a big distance with the ground when she stands. Be careful not to drop your camera. I saw water bottles and caps people dropped on sand hills. As the camels walk in group, if you drop something not important, I believe they won’t stop the camels to collect for you.
Write the word Shapotou 沙坡头 and local people will tell you where to catch the bus from Zhongwei downtown. We waited for this bus on the big street one block away from Zhongwei Train Station. On the way back, the bus go through the town. Bus 5 Yuan. Took about 40 minutes. Went through narrow roads sometimes. From memory, the bus runs every half an hour and last bus returning to Zhongwei is 6:30pm. Check with the staff to be sure.
I also took a packaged tour to Kubuqi desert, Qixinghu Tourism Special Line, Ordos when I stayed in Baotou. Compared with it, Shapotou is more interesting. People controlling camels are more relaxing to let you touch camels when taking pictures. In Kubuqi, they didn’t want me to touch and my packaged tour was too short. When going with a tour, they just quickly let you use all services you pay for, so they can take you to the next place.
If you stay in Zhongwei, you can do Shapotou totally by yourself or you can hire a taxi for 30 Yuan return trip. For me, I never know when I can finish the trip so I just take my time. When I have enough, I just go out to wait for the bus.