Ningxia, << ning shee yah, >> is an autonomous region in north-central China. The Chinese government created the autonomous regions for China’s largest minority groups. The autonomous regions operate under the central government, but they have authority to pass laws related to ethnic group affairs. About a third of the people in Ningxia belong to ethnic minority groups. The Hui (Chinese Muslims) are the largest of these groups. The province’s full name is the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The region’s name is sometimes spelled Ningsia.
Ningxia has an area of 25,600 square miles (66,400 square kilometers). Yinchuan is its capital and largest city. The climate is dry with cold winters and warm summers. Much of the land is good for grazing livestock. Most farming takes place on irrigated plains near the Huang He (Yellow River) in the north or the Qingshui River in the south. Mountains rise in southern and western Ningxia.
Ningxia’s mineral reserves include coal and gypsum. Products manufactured in the region include chemicals, machinery, rugs, and textiles. Farmers in the region grow corn, cotton, fruit, millet, rice, wheat, and wolfberries. Raising cattle, goats, and sheep is important to the economy.
Chinese irrigation systems along the Huang He in what is now Ningxia date back to the 200’s B.C. In the A.D. 900’s, Chinese control of the region weakened. The Tanguts, a Buddhist people related to the Tibetans, established the powerful kingdom of Xi Xia. Its capital, Xingchuan, stood near Yinchuan. During the 1200’s, the Mongols conquered both Xi Xia and China. In addition, settlement by Muslims from Central Asia began to grow.
In the mid-1800’s, many Hui in Ningxia and other parts of northwestern China rebelled, but the Chinese government brutally crushed the rebellion. In 1920, a massive earthquake struck. The quake was centered at Haiyuan in southwestern Ningxia. It killed about 200,000 people in central China.
Ningxia became a province in 1928. The Chinese government reorganized the area several times. It established Ningxia as an autonomous region in 1958.
See also Gansu Province; Genghis Khan; Great Wall of China; Mongol Empire.
