Ningxia

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Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
	Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
Chinese :	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	{{{Governor}}}
Area	66,000 km2 (25,000 sq mi) (27th)
Population (2004); - Density	5,880,000 (29th); 89.1 /km2 (231 /sq mi) (25th)
GDP (2008); - per capita	CNY 109.85 billion (29th); CNY 17,892 (20th)
HDI (2006)	0.737 (medium) (25th)
Ethnic composition	Han: 62%; Hui: 34%; 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
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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 (simplified Chinese: 宁夏回族自治区; traditional Chinese: 寧夏回族自治區; pinyin: Níngxià Huízú Zìzhìqū), 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 Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary. Ningxia is the home of the Hui, one of the officially recognized Nationalities of China. The capital of the region is Yinchuan.

Ningxia is bounded by Shaanxi and Gansu provinces and Inner Mongolia autonomous region and has an area of 66,400 sq km. 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. It is nearly coextensive with the ancient kingdom of the Tangut people, whose capital was captured by Genghis Khan in the early 13th century. The region is mostly desert and is sparsely settled, but the vast plain of the Yellow River in the north has been irrigated for centuries; over the years an extensive system of canals has been built. Desert and grazing land make up most of the area. Extensive land reclamation and irrigation projects have increased cultivation. The northern section, through which the Yellow River flows, is the best agricultural land. One railroad, linking Lanzhou with Baotou, crosses the region. A highway has been built across the Yellow River at Yinchuan.

[edit] History

Ningxia and its surrounding areas were incorporated into the Qin Dynasty as early as the third century BCE. 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, twelve million non-Muslims were killed by the Hui Muslims for the purpose of developing a Muslim country on the western bank of the Yellow River (Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia (excluding the Xinjiang province)), around five million Hui Muslims in Western China were killed by the Qing authorities. ^[1]

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.

[edit] 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 36°36′N 105°19′E / 36.6°N 105.32°E / 36.6; 105.32, initiated a series of landslides that killed an estimated 200,000 people. Over 600 large loess landslides created more than 40 new lakes.^[2]^[3]

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 1:500 scale terrain model 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.^[4]^[5]

[edit] 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.

[edit] Environment

Ningxia Yinchuan Integrated Ecosystem Management Project, 2006

[edit] Governance

Main article: Politics of Ningxia

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".

Ningxia has a friendship agreement with Sogn og Fjordane county of Norway.^[6]

Administrative divisions

Main article: List of administrative divisions of Ningxia

Ningxia is divided into five prefecture-level cities:

#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Administrative Seat

1	Yinchuan	银川市	Yínchuān Shì	Xingqing District
2	Shizuishan	石嘴山市	Shízuǐshān Shì	Dawukou District
3	Wuzhong	吴忠市	Wúzhōng Shì	Litong District
4	Zhongwei	中卫市	Zhōngwèi Shì	Shapotou District
5	Guyuan	固原市	Gùyuán Shì	Yuanzhou District

[edit] Economy

Ningxia is the province with the third smallest GDP (Tibet being the last) in the PRC. Its nominal GDP in 2008 was just 109.85 billion yuan (US$15.8 billion) and a per capita GDP of 17,892 yuan (US$2,576). It contributes 0.3% of the national economy.

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

Yinchuan Economic and Technological Development Zone: ^[7]established in 1992 spanning 32 km2, annual economic output Rmb23.7 billion (25.1% up) (US$3.5 billion) Major investors: Mainly local enterprises such as Kocel Steel Foundry, FAG Railway Bearing (Ningxia), Ningxia Little Giant Machine Tools, etc. Major industries: Machinery and equipment manufacturing, new materials, fine chemicals and the animation industry

Desheng Industrial Park (in Helan County), is a base for about 400 enterprises. The industrial park has industrial chains from Muslim food and commodities to trade and logistics, new materials and bio-pharmaceuticals that has 80 billion yuan in fixed assets. Desheng is looking to be the most promising industrial park in the city. It achieved a total output value of 4.85 billion in 2008, up 40 percent year-on-year. The local government plans to cut taxes and other fees to reduce the burden on local enterprises. The industrial output value reached 2.68 billion yuan in 2008, an increase of 48 percent from a year earlier.

[edit] Transport

[edit] Airports

Yinchuan Hedong Airport
Yinchuan Helanshan Airport
Zhongwei Xiangshan Airport (中卫香山机场)
Wuhai Airport (serves the northern area)

[edit] Highways

[edit] Bridge

Taole Yellow River Expressway Bridge (陶乐黄河大桥)

[edit] Rail

Baotou-Lanzhou Railway (包兰铁路)
Baozhong Railway (宝中铁路)

[edit] Universities

See List of universities and colleges in Ningxia

[edit] Hospitals

People's Hospital of Ningxia
Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Ningxia
Ningxia Medical College affiliated Hospital
Yinchuan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Yinchuan People's Hospital
Yinchuan Stomatological Hospital
Yinchuan Women and Children's Healthcare Center
Women and Children's Healthcare Center of Ningixa
Yinchuan No.1 People's Hospital
Yinchuan No.2 People's Hospital
Yinchuan No.3 People's Hospital
Shizuishan No.2 People's Hospital
Guyuan Hospital of Ningxia

[edit] 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.

[edit] Museums

Ningxia Museum, opened in 1988
Ningxia Transportation Museum, opened in August 2008

[edit] Gallery

Western Xia Tombs	From a cable car running to the top of Helan Shan	Aerial view of Yinchuan	People's Square in Yinchuan
Fountain in Yinchuan	The 108 dagobas near Qingtongxia	Wolfberry harvest celebration