Ningxia

宁夏回族自治区 Níngxià Huízú Zìzhìqū
Abbreviations: 宁 (Pinyin: Níng)
Origin of name	宁 níng - tranquil 夏 xià - Western Xia "Tranquil Xia"
Administration type	Autonomous region
Capital (and largest city)	Yinchuan
CPC Ctte Secretary	Chen Jianguo
Chairman	Ma Qizhi
Area	66,000 km² (27th)
Population (2004)  - Density	5,880,000 (29th) 89.1/km² (25th)
GDP (2006)  - per capita	CNY 70.7 billion (29th) CNY 11,784 (21st)
HDI (2005)	0.712 (medium) (26th)
Major nationalities	Han - 79% Hui - 20% Manchu - 0.4%
Prefecture-level	5 divisions
County-level	21 divisions
Township-level†	219 divisions
ISO 3166-2	CN-64
Official website http://www.nx.gov.cn/
Source for population and GDP data: 《中国统计年鉴—2005》 China Statistical Yearbook 2005 ISBN 7503747382 Source for nationalities data: 《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》 Tabulation on nationalities of 2000 population census of China ISBN 7105054255 † As at December 31, 2004

Ningxia (Simplified Chinese: 宁夏; Traditional Chinese: 寧夏; pinyin: Níngxià; Wade-Giles: Ning-hsia; Postal map spelling: Ningsia), full name Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is a Hui autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northwest of the country on the Loess highland. Ningxia borders Shaanxi to the west, Gansu to the east, and Inner Mongolia to the north. Its capital city is Yinchuan.

History

Ningxia and its surrounding areas were incorporated into the territory of the Qin Dynasty as early as the third century B.C.E. Throughout the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, new settlements were added to the region, and by the eleventh century the Tangut tribe had established the Western Xia Dynasty in Ningxia, on the outskirts of the Song Dynasty.

Later on, the region came under Mongol domination after Genghis Khan conquered Yinchuan in the early thirteenth century. After the Mongols departed and their influence faded, Turkic-speaking Muslims slowly began moving into Ningxia from the west. This shift in demographics and religious difference 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. However, in 1928 it was detached and became its own individual 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 under the authority of the communist People's Republic of China. In 1969, its border was extended to the north and the region acquired parts of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, but these changes were reversed in 1979, leaving the area with its current borders.

Geography

Ningxia is a relatively dry, desert-like region, which is a characteristic shared by much of northern China. The semi-arid, Loess Plateau occupies the southern and eastern part of the province, while the Ningxia Plain stretches across the northern part, with the Yellow River running through it. The largest desert in the region is the Tengger desert in Shapotou.

While the province is dry, there is significant irrigation in order to support the growing of a variety of crops, including wolfberry, which is a commonly consumed fruit throughout the region and throughout China as a whole. The Yellow River flows through the north, providing the largest source of irrigation. The Yellow River basin, with its various tributaries, covers nearly 75 per cent of Ningxia's total land area. In addition, the Qingshui River flows through the center of the southern portion of the province, and flows northward to meet the Yellow River.

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.

Major cities:

• Yinchuan
• Qingtongxia
• Wuzhong
• Shizhuishan

Major rivers and lakes:

• Yellow River
• Qingshui River

Administrative divisions

Ningxia is divided into five prefecture-level divisions, all of which are prefecture-level cities. These five prefecture-level cities include:

• Yinchuan City (银川市 Yínchuān Shì)
• Shizuishan City (石嘴山市 Shízuǐshān Shì)
• Zhongwei City (中卫市 Zhōngwèi Shì)
• Wuzhong City (吴忠市 Wúzhōng Shì)
• Guyuan City (固原市 Gùyuán Shì)

The five prefecture-level divisions of Ningxia are subdivided into 21 county-level divisions (8 districts, 2 county-level cities, and 11 counties). Those are further subdivided into 229 township-level divisions (94 towns, 93 townships, and 42 subdistricts).

Economy

Agriculture serves as an important part of Ningxia's economy, with most of the crops being grown along the main waterways of the Yellow River basin. Some of the region's basic crops include: wheat, millet, potatoes, corn, sorghum, rapeseed, soybeans, flax and hemp. In addition to these however, Ningxia is also the principal region of China where wolfberries are grown. These fruits are known for their tremendous nutritional value, as they are some of the only fruits to contain not only vitamins and anti-oxidants, but also protein. The most robust variety of wolfberries are reputed to be found in Ningxia, which makes them especially important in the region.

Industry in Ningxia has developed very rapidly in the last few decades, as China has experienced its economic boom. Many different industrial enterprises have been created, including coal, electric power, metallurgy, petroleum, heavy machinery, chemicals, building materials, textiles, synthetic fabrics, and plastics. These various industries have created a strong and relatively full system of industry for the region.

Ningxia is the province with the third smallest GDP (Tibet being the last) in the entire People's Republic of China. 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.

Demographics

Ningxia is the home of the Hui, one of the officially recognized Chinese ethnic minority groups. While some Hui are ethnically indistinguishable from the Han (China's majority ethnic group), many Hui retain Central Asian and Middle Eastern genetic features, most notably similar to Arabs and Persians, such as dark skin and lighter-colored eyes. As a stop along the legendary Silk Road, the Hui were heavily influenced by Islamic traders, and as a result, many of them became Muslims, creating a uniquely different culture from the majority Han Chinese population of China. This culture can be seen strongly even today in Hui architecture, customs, and clothing.

Education

At the establishment of Ningxia as an autonomous region in 1958, the educational system was fairly underdeveloped and inadequate to meet the needs of the population. At that time, there was not a single university in the province. Since then, however, there has been a steady trend of continuous progress in developing a stronger educational system.

As of 2000, Ningxia has set up five colleges and universities, with a total of 17,163 students enrolled and 1,894 teachers. In addition, the region has set up 74 secondary vocational schools with 41,719 students and 3,532 teachers, 433 middle schools with 318,308 students and 20,145 teachers, and 3,267 primary schools with 657,352 pupils and 34,694 teachers.

In addition to increasing the standards of higher education and vocational education for adults, the province has also established a high enrollment rate of school age children of 97.26%. Recently, the People's Republic of China government has initiated a "revitalize the northeast" campaign, which seeks to improve both the education and economic systems of many of the provinces in northeast China. It is very likely that these policies will also improve the education system in Ningxia, adding even greater results to the already positive current trends.

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.

External links

• Ningxia regional government website (in simplified Chinese) Retrieved December 5, 2007.
• Large map of Ningxia Retrieved December 5, 2007.
• Overview of Ningxia Retrieved December 5, 2007.
• UNESCAP Retrieved December 5, 2007.
• People's Daily Retrieved December 5, 2007.
• The Australia-China CCI of New South Wales information center Retrieved December 5, 2007.
• Ningxia travel guide Retrieved December 5, 2007.

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