Ningxia
(2002 est. pop. 5.9 million). Ningxia, with the official name of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is located in northwest China and covers an area of 51,800 square kilometers. Ningxia borders on Gansu in the east, south, and west; on Mongolia in the north; and on Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi in the east. It is traversed by the Huang (Yellow) River, which in the middle of the region changes its west–east course and runs north. The larger part of the region consists of loess plateau and its altitude averages 1,000 meters above sea level. The majority of the region's 5.2 million (1996) people live in the fertile Huang River Valley, which lies sheltered by the Helan Mountains. The capital of Yinchuan (population of 559,000 in 1996) is also situated in the valley.
The Ningxia region was carved out of Gansu Province and was accorded provincial status from 1928 to 1954, when it reverted to Gansu, but in 1958 several Hui autonomous districts were combined into one independent region, which is divided into sixteen counties and one banner, the Alashan East Banner, home of a Mongol minority people. The 1.8 million Hui—Chinese Moslems—are concentrated in and around the capital, while several other minority groups are scattered around the region. Irrigated fields along the 320-kilometer-long south to north river valley produce wheat, rice, sugar beets, vegetables, and fruit, and animal husbandry is dominated by sheep. Industries are concentrated around Yinchuan and the second largest city, Shizuishan.
Further Reading
Schran, Peter. (1976) Guerrilla Economy: The Development of the Shensi-Kansu-Ninghsia Border Region, 1937–1945. Albany: State University of New York Press.
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