宁夏回族自治区，中华人民共和国省级行政区，首府银川，中国五大少数民族自治区之一。历史上是“丝绸之路”的要道，素有“塞上江南”之美誉。
NingxiaHuiAutonomousRegionislocatedinthemiddleandupperreachesoftheYellowRiverinNorthwestChina,between35°14'-39°23'nand104°17'-107°39'E.ItisadjacenttoShaanxiProvinceintheEast,InnerMongoliaAutonomousRegionintheWestandNorth,andGansuProvinceinthesouth,withatotalareaof66400squarekilometers.Theterrainislongandnarrowfromnorthtosouth,highintheSouthandlowinthenorth.Fromnorthtosouth,thereareHelanMountain,NingxiaplainandLiupanMountain.Ningxiais456kmfromnorthtoSouthand250kmfromeasttowest.NingxiaislocatedinthetransitionzonebetweentheLoessPlateauandInnerMongoliaPlateau.Intermsofgeomorphologicaltypes,theloesslandformerodedbyflowingwaterisdominantinthesouth,andtheariddenudationandwinderosionlandformisdominantinthemiddleandNorth.Therearerelativelyhighmountainsandwidelydistributedhills,alluvialplainformedbyfaultsubsidenceandalluvialoftheYellowRiver,platformandsanddunes.Thesurfacemorphologyiscomplexanddiverse.Accordingtothestatisticaldatainearly2004,hillyareaaccountsfor38%,plainarea26.8%,mountainarea15.8%,platform17.6%anddesert1.8%.Theaveragealtitudeis1090-2000m.HelanMountainisthenaturalbarrierofNingxiaplain.Themainpeak,AobaoGeda,is3556metersabovesealevel.TheYellowRiverpassesthrough12citiesandcountiesinthemiddleandNorth,withaflowof397km.
Ningxiaislocatedintheinland,belongstotemperatecontinentalsemi-aridclimate.ItstraddlestheEastMonsoonRegionandthenorthwestaridregion,andthesouthwestisclosetotheQinghaiTibetalpineregion,whichisroughlylocatedintheintersectionandtransitionzoneofthethreenaturalregionsinChina.Theannualaveragetemperatureis5℃～9℃,andthetemperaturedifferencebetweendayandnightislarge.Theannualprecipitationisgenerally200-600mm.With3000hoursofsunshineand170daysoffrostfreeperiod,itisoneoftheareaswiththemostabundantsunshineandsolarradiationinChina.
NingxiaisoneofthebirthplacesofancientChinesecivilization.ThelatePaleolithichumanactivitysiteandunearthedculturalrelicsinShuidonggou,LingwuCounty,NingxiaProvinceshowthathumanbeingshavebeenlivingandreproducinghereasearlyas30000yearsago.
DuringthespringandAutumnperiodandtheWarringStatesperiod,theworld-famousGreatWallbegantobebuiltintheterritory.AfterthefirstemperorofQinunifiedChina,hesenttroopstosettledowninNingxiaandbeganthehistoryofdivertingwaterfromtheYellowRiverforirrigation.BytheHanDynasty(206-220BC),thefarmingeconomyherehadbeenquiteprosperous.Inthe14thyearofTianbaointheTangDynasty(755),the"anShirebellion"brokeout.PrinceLiHengenteredNingxiaandbecameemperorinLingwu.Atthattime,NingxiahadbecomeoneoftheimportantchannelsofEast-WesttransportationandtradeinChina.InthefirstyearofBaoyuan(1038)ofNorthernSongDynasty,LiYuanhao,theleaderofDangxiangnationality,establishedDaxiastatewithNingxiaasthecenter,whichwascalledXixiainhistory,anditscapitalwasXingqingprefecture(nowYinchuanCity).AfterMongoliaexterminatedXixia,NingxiaFuRoadwassetupinthe24thyearoftheYuanDynasty(1287).NingxiaWeiwassetupinMingDynasty.NingxiagovernmentwassetupinQingDynasty.IntheearlyyearsoftheRepublicofChina,Ningxiagovernmentwaschangedtoshuofangdao,andNingxiaProvincewasestablishedin1929.Afterthefoundingofthepeople'sRepublicofChinain1949,NingxiaProvincewasabolishedin1954.NingxiaHuiAutonomousRegionwasestablishedonOctober25,1958.
Ningxiaisrichinmineralresourceswithprominentadvantagesinagriculture,energyandtourism.Thereare1.288millionhectaresofcultivatedlandintheregion.Amongthem,morethan333000hectaresareirrigated.Therearemorethan660000hectaresofwastelandsuitableforagriculturetobedeveloped,including133000hectaresofwastelandforaquaculture,56000hectaresofwastewaterand3millionhectaresofgrassland.Morethan50kindsofmineralresourceshavebeendiscovered,andthepercapitapotentialvalueofnaturalresourcesis163.5%ofthenationalaveragevalue,rankingfifthinthecountry.Inparticular,non-metallicmineralresourcesarerich,mainlycoal,gypsum,oil,naturalgasandsoon.GypsumreservesrankfirstinChina.Nearlyonethirdofthelandintheregionisrichincoalresources,withprovenreservesofmorethan30billiontons,rankingfifthinthecountry.TheprovenreservesofLingwucoalfieldalonereachmorethan27billiontons,equivalenttothetotalprovenreservesinNortheastChina.AmongthetoptencoaltypesinChina,therearenineinNingxia.TaixiCoal,theworldfamoushighqualityanthracite,hasanannualexportvolumeof1milliontons.TheShaanxiGansuNingxiabasinnaturalgasfieldacrossNingxiahasprovedreservesofmorethan200billioncubicmeters.Itisaworld-classlargegasfield.
TheautonomousregionhasfiveprefecturelevelcitiesofYinchuan,Shizuishan,Wuzhong,GuyuanandZhongwei,sixmunicipaldistrictsofXingqing,Jinfeng,Xixia,Dawukou,HuinongandYuanzhou,twocounty-levelcitiesofLingwuandQingtongxia,11countiesofYongning,Helan,Pingluo,Tongxin,Yanchi,Zhongning,Haiyuan,Jingyuan,Xiji,LongdeandPengyang,andHongsibaoDevelopmentZone(county-levelimmigrationDevelopmentZone),withYinchuanasitscapital.
Ningxiahas35ethnicgroups,includingHuiandHan,withatotalpopulationof6.0373millionattheendof2007,including3.7742millionHanand2.0649millionHui.NingxiaisthelargestHuiinhabitedareainChina.HuipeoplebelieveinIslam.
TheHuinationalityinChinawasformedintheYuanDynasty.TheoriginoftheHuinationalitycanbetracedbacktothemiddleoftheseventhcentury,whenArabandPersianmerchantscametoChinatodobusinessandstay.IntheYuanDynasty,alargenumberofCentralAsian,PersianandArabcametoChina.Duetointermarriageandsocio-economicrelations,theyformedHuinationalityintheprocessoflong-termrelationshipwithHan,Uygur,Mongolianandothernationalities.AsearlyastheSongDynasty,therewerePersianswhobelievedinIslamandsettleddowninNingxia.IntheYuanDynasty,alargenumberofArabMuslimsfromCentralAsia,togetherwiththeMongols,movedtoNingxiatocultivateanddefendthefrontier.AttheendofYuanDynastyandthebeginningofMingDynasty,theHuinationalitygraduallyformed,andNingxiaHuinationalityenteredarelativelystabledevelopmentperiod.
Huipeople'slivinginNingxiacanbetracedbacktotheendofTangDynasty.IntheNorthernSongDynastyandXixiaperiod,mostoftheMuslimsfromtheeastcametotheCentralPlainsfromYumenandJiuquanviaXixia.BytheYuanDynasty,alargenumberofArabs,PersiansandCentralAsianswererecruitedormigratedtoliveintheformofsemimilitaryandseminomadic.IntheearlyMingDynasty,alargenumberofHuipeoplewereplacedinLingzhou(nowLingwuCity)andGuyuancountiesas"attachedtoTuda".Inaddition,theHuipeoplewhoconstantlymigratedtoNingxiafordevelopmentandreclamationformedmanyHuisettlements.DuringthereignofEmperorQianlongoftheQingDynasty,thepopulationofHuinationalityinNingxiaincreaseddramatically.DuringtheTongzhiperiod(1862-1874),theantiQinguprisingoftheNorthwestHuipeoplewasbrutallysuppressed,andthevolunteersandtheirfamiliesweremovedtoremoteareas.SomeofthemmigratedtoLingzhou,Huaping(nowJingyuanCountyofNingxia),Longde,Haiyuanandothercounties.
AsthemainethnicgroupinNingxiaHuipeoplebelieveinIslam.InNingxiaHuiinhabitedareas,therearemorethan3000mosqueswithdifferentarchitecturalformsandscales,andabout4000imams.TheMuslimpeopleofHuinationalitygenerallybelieveinfive"lessons",namely:recitation,ceremony,fasting,lessonandpilgrimage.TherearethreetraditionalfestivalsoftheHuipeople:EidalFitr,guerbang(alsoknownasEidalAdhA)andShengjiFestival.Theautonomousregion,citiesandcountieshaveestablishedreligioussocialorganizationsatalllevels,namelyIslamicAssociations,tomanagetheirownreligiouslife.TheautonomousregionhassetupNingxiaIslamicschoolinYinchuancityandTongxinArabicschoolinTongxinCounty,helpingtheMuslimpeopletocultivatealargenumberoftalentswithreligiousknowledge.InadditiontoIslam,therearemassbeliefs,Buddhism,Catholicism,ChristianityandTaoisminNingxia.Thepeople'sGovernmentoftheautonomousregiontreatsallkindsofreligionsequally,protectsthenormalreligiousactivitiesofthemasses,andallkindsofreligiouspeopleliveinharmonyforalongtimeinNingxia.
NingxiaHuipeoplehaveformeduniquecustomsinclothing,diet,dailyhygiene,marriage,funeralandsoon.Huimenliketowearsmallwhitecapsandblackwaistcoats.Huiwomenalsoliketowearheadsets,goldandsilverearrings,ringsandbracelets.Huipeoplepayspecialattentiontohygiene,cleanandtidyindoorandoutdoor,cleanstove.Usuallywashhandsandfacewithsoupbottle,bathwithhangingpot.
Huipeopleliketoeatthemeatofcattle,sheep,camelsandotherruminants,butalsoeatchicken,duck,gooseandfish.Theydon'teatpork,animalbloodanddeadlivestock.Animalseatenbydevoutbelieversmustbeslaughteredbyimams.Huipeoplegenerallydon'tsmokeordrink.Men,womenandchildrenallliketodrink"Babao"cupteawithnutritionalcondimentssuchasrocksugar,tea,medlar,walnutkernel,sesame,longan,jujubeandpreservedfruit.DuringthefestiveFestival,theHuipeoplemostlymakefriedfoodsuchasfragrantoil,SanziandYaguo.Whentherearedistinguishedguests,theywillbewarmlyreceivedbytherich"Quanyangbanquet"andvariousHuisnacks.Inmarriage,monogamyispracticed.TheweddingceremonyofHuinationalityisverygrandandhasmanyreligiousandethniccharacteristics.Forexample,whenaweddingisheld,theImamshouldbeaskedtoread"nikaha",thatis,totestifyandcongratulatewithArabicscriptures.ThefuneraloftheHuinationalityissimpleandeasy,withthepracticeofearthburialandthinburial.Thefuneralincludesfourprocedures:cleaningtheburialbody,wrappingthebodywithwhitecloth,holdingreligiousprayerceremonyunderthedirectionofImam,andenteringtheburial.
Mosque,alsoknownasthemosque.Arabicis"mesgid",whichmeanstheplacetokowtow.ItisnotonlyaplaceforIslamicbelieverstoworship,butalsoacenterofcultureandeducationandacenterofsocialactivitiesinsomeplaces.TheestablishmentofmosquesinNingxiastartedfromYuanDynasty,andthenumberandscaleofmosqueshavedevelopedconsiderablyinMingandQingDynasties.GongbeiisthemausoleumofanoutstandingfigureinacertainregionofIslam.DaotangisaplacewherereligiousleadersofacertainbranchofIslamworship,chantscriptures,givelecturesandlive.IslamicarchitectureinNingxiareflectstheprocessofcombiningIslamicculturewithChinesetraditionalculture,andhasdistinctivelocalculturalcharacteristicsandnationalpersonality.