Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, one of the five autonomous regions in China, and the smallest of all provinces in China, is situated in the west of the Great Bend of the Yellow River. Hui people make up about thirty percent of the tiny four million population, the remainder comprising mainly Han. Its capital city is Yinchuan, the political, economic, and cultural center of the region, and also a famous historical and cultural city. Thanks to the ancient Huanghe River irrigational system, the northern part of Ningxia is well irrigated and known as the land of fish and rice in the North.

Ningxia is situated in the northwest of China and middle of the upper reaches of the Yellow River. It's the only provincial level Hui autonomous region in China, with Shaanxi to its east, Inner Mongolia to its northwest and Gansu to its southwest. Ningxia covers an area of 66,400 square kilometers and its population is 5.3 million. Ningxia is endowed with beautiful mountains, plains and fertile lands. The capital city is Yinchuan.

Ningxia has one of biggest pastures in China. It also boasts of mineral resources, such as sodium, magnesium, hydaulic ammonia, lime nitrogen, tantalum and niobium. The gas reserves in the " Shan Gan Ning Natural Gas Field" exceeds 290 billion tons and it is one of the largest gas field in the world.

The history of Ningxia is one of the originality of the Hui and Han people. Today the people of Ningxia are on a new racing point, working hard to build the region, undertaking a great job to enrich the people , uniting together, making painstaking efforts for more progress and striding toward a rich and prosperous new era.

Recommended Scenic Spots

Western Xia Mausoleum

The Western Xia Mausoleum is located on the eastern slope of Helanshan, in the western suburbs of Yinchuan. This mausoleum contains the tombs of emperors of the Western Xia dynasty (1038-1227). 9 tombs of emperors and some 140 annex tombs are scattered throughout the area.

Every tomb is a complete structure that include watchtowers, sacred walls, stele pavilions, halls and pagodas and some are as big as 100,000 sq meters. To date only 1 tomb and 4 annex tombs have been excavated.

Haibao Pagoda

Haibao Pagoda, also called North Pagoda, stands out prominently in the north of the city. Records of the structure date from the 5th century. In 1739 an earthquake toppled the lot, but it was rebuilt in 1771 in the original style.

It's part of a working monastery, but you can still climb up the pagoda, although you may have to ask the gatekeeper to unlock the stairwell door. The structure is some nine storeys high, and offers fine views of the Helanshan mountains to the west and the Yellow River to the east.