Yinchuan Hedong International Airport is the primary airport serving Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. It is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) southeast of downtown Yinchuan in the town of Linghe of Lingwu City. A relatively small airport compared to many airports in China, it nevertheless is the autonomous region's main aviation gateway. Its name "Hedong" literally means "East of the River" and derives from the airport's location east of the Yellow River. It is connected to over 20 cities by either direct flights, or transferring in Xi'an and Beijing. The terminal building covers a total area of 15,000 square metres (160,000 sq ft). The airport handled 10,575,393 passengers in 2019, making it the 38th busiest airport in China.