Ningxia (Postal map spelling: Ningsia), full name Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is a Hui autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located on the northwest Loess highland, the Yellow River flows through a vast area of its land. The capital of the region is Yinchuan.

History

Ningxia and its surrounding areas were incorporated into the Qin Dynasty as early as the third century. Throughout the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty there were several large cities established in the region, and by the eleventh century the Tangut tribe had established the Western Xia Dynasty on the outskirts of the then Song Dynasty.

It then came under Mongol domination after Genghis Khan conquered Yinchuan in the early thirteenth century. After the Mongols departed and its influences faded, some Turkic-speaking Muslims also began moving into Ningxia from the west. In the Muslim Rebellion of the 19th century, during which Qing authorities decimated Chinese Muslim populations by killing upwards of twelve million Muslims throughout China.

In 1914, Ningxia was merged with the province of Gansu; in 1928, however, it was detached and became a province. Between 1914 and 1928, the Xibei San Ma brothers (literally "three Mas of the northwest") ruled the provinces of Qinghai, Ningxia and Gansu. In 1958, Ningxia formally became an autonomous region of China. In 1969, Ningxia's border was extended to the north and acquired parts of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, but was reverted again in 1979.

Geography

Ningxia borders the provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Rivers that flow through Ningxia include the Yellow River.

Ningxia is a relatively dry, desert-like region. There is significant irrigation in order to support the growing of wolfberries (a commonly consumed fruit throughout the region).

Ningxia's deserts include the Tengger desert in Shapotou.

On 16 December 1920, the Haiyuan earthquake, 8.6 magnitude, at , initiated a series of landslides that killed an estimated 200,000 people. Over 600 large loess landslides created more than 40 new lakes.

In 2006, satellite images indicated that a 700 by 200-meter fenced area within Ningxia—5 km southwest of Yinchuan, near the remote village of Huangyangtan—is a near-exact scaled-down reproduction of a 450 by 350-kilometer area of Aksai Chin bordering India, complete with mountains, valleys, lakes and hills. Its purpose is as yet unknown.

Climate

The region is 1,200 km from the sea and has a continental climate with average summer temperatures rising to between 17 and 24°C in July and average winter temperatures dropping to between -7 and -10°C in January. Seasonal extreme temperatures can reach 39°C in summer and -30°C in winter. The diurnal temperature variation in summer is 17°C. Annual rainfall averages from 190 to 700 millimeters, with more rain falling in the south of the region.

Administrative divisions

Ningxia is divided into five prefecture-level cities:

• Guyuan (固原 | Gùyuán Shì)
• Shizuishan (石嘴山 | Shízuishan Shì)
• Wuzhong (吴忠 | Wúzhong Shì)
• Yinchuan (银川 | Yínchuān Shì) (capital city)
• Zhongwei (中卫 | Zhōngwèi Shì)

Demographics

Ningxia is the home of the Hui, one of the officially recognized Nationalities of China.

Politics

The politics of Ningxia is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.

The Chairman of the Autonomous Region is the highest ranking official in the People's Government of Ningxia. However, in the Autonomous Region's dual party-government governing system, the Chairman has less power than the Communist Party of China Ningxia Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the "Ningxia CPC Party Chief".

Economy

Ningxia is the province with the third smallest GDP (Tibet being the last) in the PRC. Its nominal GDP in 2007 was just 83.4 billion yuan (US$11 billion) and a per capita GDP of 13,743 yuan (US$1,807). It contributes 0.3% of the national economy.

Ningxia is the principal region of China where wolfberries are grown.

Universities

• Ningxia University
• Ningxia Medical College
• The Second Northwest Institute For Ethnic Minorities

Tourism

One of Ningxia's main tourist spots is the famous Xixia Tombs site located 30 km west of Yinchuan. The remnants of nine Western Xia emperors' tombs and two hundred other tombs lie within a 50-km² area. Other famous sites in Ningxia include Helan Shan, the mysterious 108 dagobas, the twin pagodas of Baisikou and the desert research outpost at Shapatou.

Gallery

Notes

External links

• Ningxia Government website