Overview
The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, often referred to as “Ning”, is located at the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River in northwest China. It borders Gansu Province to the south, Shanxi Province to the east, and Inner Mongolia to the north. Covering an area of 66,000 sq km, it is the largest community of the Hui ethnic group in China. It has a total population of 6.13 million while the Hui ethnic group consist about one third of it, which is over 2.3 million. As for the reason, Ningxia is widely regarded as the “Islamic province of China” worldwide. The Yellow River flows through 12 cities and counties in central and north Ningxia. It brings rich water resource to Ningxia and makes Yinchuan Plain the most affluent area throughout the autonomous region. Thus, the Yinchuan plain has been considered as the “Eden of the Northern Wastes”. Indeed as the saying goes, “The Yellow River Brings prosperity to Ningxia”.