Zhongwei City, referred to as "Wei" for short, is a prefecture-level city under the jurisdiction of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. It is located in the central and western part of Ningxia, the first of the Yellow River front, the transition zone from Ningxia Plain to Loess Plateau, and the junction of Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and Gansu. By 2022, Zhongwei has jurisdiction over Shapotou District, Zhongning County and Haiyuan County, with a total area of 17,391.3 square kilometers. The Zhongwei People's Government is located at No. 5, Zhengtong East Road, Shapotou District. By the end of 2021, the permanent population of Zhongwei City is 1.075 million.

In the first year of Yongle of Ming Dynasty (1403), it was changed from right guard to Ningxia Zhongwei. In the second year of Yongzheng of Qing Dynasty (1724), it was renamed Zhongwei County, belonging to Ningxia Prefecture, while Haiyuan County belonged to Pingliang Prefecture. In the twenty-second year of the Republic of China (1933), Zhongwei County was divided into Zhongwei and Zhongning counties. In 2004, The State Council approved the establishment of prefecture-level Zhongwei City.

Zhongwei City is located in the geometric center of China's land, guarding the "West gate" of Ningxia. It is a key junction city on the Eurasian Land Bridge and the north Road of the ancient Silk Road, and an important transportation hub in the west. Zhongwei is a strategic channel for the national west-east gas transmission, and is known as the "gas pulse of China".

In 2022, Zhongwei's GDP reached 56.389 billion yuan.