Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, autonomous region (1994 est. pop. 5,030,000), c.25,600 sq mi (66,321 sq km), N China. The capital is Yinchuan. Ningxia is part of the Inner Mongolian plateau, and desert and grazing land make up most of the area. Extensive land reclamation and irrigation projects, however, have increased cultivation, pushing the nomadic herders north or forcing them to change their lifestyles. The northern section, through which the Huang He (Yellow River) flows, is the best agricultural land. Wheat, sorghum, rice, beans, fruit, and vegetables are grown. Wools, furs, hides, and rugs are exported, and there is some coal mining. Desert lakes yield salt and soda. The chief cities—Yinquan, Wuzhong, and Shicui shan—are all on the Huang He. Other towns are merely stations on the camel caravan routes, which are still important avenues of trade. One railroad, linking Lanzhou with Baotou, crosses the region. A highway has been built across the Huang He at Yingchuan. The Chinese population is by far the largest; other ethnic groups include the Hui, Mongols, Tibetans, and Manchus. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1954 but was detached and reconstituted as an autonomous region for the Hui people in 1958. In 1969, Ningxia received a part of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, but this area was returned in 1979. Ningxia Univ. is in Yingchuan. The name sometimes appears as Ninghsia Hui.

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 BC. Throughout the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty there were further settlements, 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, Turkic-speaking Muslims slowly began moving into Ningxia from the west. This created unavoidable tensions between the Han and the Hui ethnic groups in the following centuries.

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 – 35 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 Chinese minority groups. While some Hui are ethnically indistinguishable from the Han (the major Chinese ethnic group), many Hui retain Central Asian and Middle Eastern genetic features, most notably Arabs and Persians, such as dark skin and lighter-colored eyes in addition to their Islamic clothing. As a stop along the legendary Silk Road, the Hui were influenced by the Islamic traders and became Muslims.

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 2006 was just 70.7 billion yuan (US$9.2 billion) and a per capita GDP of 11,784 yuan (US$1,517). It contributes 0.3% of the national economy.

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

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.

Notes

Images

External links

• Ningxia regional government website (simplified Chinese)
• Large map of Ningxia
• Ningxia-Hui Autonomous Region statistics for 2005 at China.com.cn
• Article on Wolfberries, with image of fruit from Ningxia being dried in the sun after picking

Listening

• NPR story about Ningxia, December 12, 2007