The city of Zhongwei is located in the most westerly part of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (aka Ningxia), in that triangular-shaped stretch of land where Ningxia meets Gansu Province to the south and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (aka Inner Mongolia) to the north. The Liupan Mountains, which straddle Ningxia and Gansu Province, lie some 50 kilometers roughly due south of Zhongwei. Inner Mongolia's Tengger Desert and Helan Mountains lie just across the border to the north. Zhongwei is one of the major transportation hubs in the Northwest. Its interweaved highway and railway network link Zhongwei to the rest of China, helping to keep the avenues of commerce as well as the communication links between this corner of Ningxia and the rest of the country running smoothly.

The Yellow River, which was a major transportation route for this part of the country during ancient times, runs through the area of Zhongwei where the city borders Inner Mongolia. The agricultural significance of the river for the entire region cannot be overemphasized. It is thanks to the Yellow River that the area can produce one of the staples of Chinese agriculture, rice. Parts of the land formerly lost to the Tengger Desert have been reclaimed, thanks to extensive sand control, and now produce rice.

Thanks to the Yellow River, Zhongwei is blessed with rich agricultural significance. The city is also well-known as "Jiangnan (downstream Yangtze River area) in the desert".

Another important agricultural contribution to the economy of the region is the rearing of goats. Zhongwei goats provide not only food, they also provide cashmere wool. Moreover, Zhongwei goats subsist on plants that thrive in arid climates such as the climate in the Zhongwei area.

The advantageous and strategic location has endowed Zhongwei with the features of vast deserts, green hills, the Yellow River and oasis. At the same time, tourists are able to enjoy the various entertaining activities there, such as sand slide and camel ride.