Guyuan City, referred to as "Gu" in ancient times, was known as Dayuan, Gaoping, Xiaoguan and Yuanzhou. It is a prefecture-level city under the jurisdiction of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and the deputy central city of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. It is located in Liupanshan District in the south of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, between 105º19 '~ 106º57' east longitude and 35º14 '~ 36º31' north latitude. It is adjacent to Qingyang City and Pingliang City in Gansu Province in the east, connected to Pingliang City in the south, demarcated with Baiyin City in the west, and bordered by Zhongwei City and Wuzhong City in Ningxia in the north. Jurisdiction over 1 district, 4 counties, a total area of 10,500 square kilometers, urban area of 52.33 square kilometers. According to the seventh census data, as of midnight on November 1, 2020, the permanent resident population of Guyuan city was 1,142,142.

Guyuan City is located in the center of the triangle composed of Xi 'an, Lanzhou and Yinchuan. It is one of the five prefecture-level cities in Ningxia and the only city not along the Yellow River. Shaanxi-gansu-ningxia Old Revolutionary Base Area revitalization planning central city, central city of southern Ningxia region, political, economic, cultural center and transportation hub. It is located at the intersection of the farming culture of the Central Plains and the nomadic culture of the north. It is the only place to pass through the eastern section of the Silk Road. It is an important economic, transportation hub and military town in the northwest region in history. Guyuan is one of the first batch of national comprehensive pilot areas for new urbanization. On December 29, 2018, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission named the sixth batch of national Ethnic unity and progress demonstration zone (unit).

In 2022, the GDP of Guyuan reached 40.968 billion yuan.