Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, abbreviated as “Ning”, is a provincial-level administrative region of the People’s Republic of China with Yinchuan as its capital. Located in northwest China, it borders Shaanxi Province to the east, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to the west and north, and Gansu Province to the south.
Ningxia stretches long and narrow from north to south, with terrain higher in the south and lower in the north. It features large height differences in the west and gentle undulations in the east. The whole region has a temperate continental arid and semi-arid climate. As of May 2025, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region administers 5 prefecture-level cities. The local dialects include Chuanyu dialect in the northern plain area, belonging to Lan-Yin Mandarin, and dialects in the southern mountainous areas, belonging to Central Plains Mandarin.
Human activities in Ningxia date back about 30,000 years. After the Yuan Dynasty conquered the Western Xia, the region was demoted to Ningxia Fu Road under Gansu Province, and the name “Ningxia” first appeared. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was founded on October 25, 1958.
Ningxia boasts profound historical and cultural heritage and is one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization. Benefiting from irrigation by the Yellow River, it has long been known as “Lush South Beyond the Great Wall” and “Land of Fish and Rice”. Its intangible cultural heritage includes Hui folk instrumental music, paper-cutting (Hui paper-cutting), and other forms.
As one of the cradles of Chinese civilization, Ningxia was an important node on the ancient Silk Road. Located at the geometric center of China’s territory, Ningxia is a treasure land in northwest China, bringing together high mountains, canyons, grasslands, deserts, and great rivers, forming a picturesque landscape of “Lush South Beyond the Great Wall · Magical Ningxia”. It enjoys the reputation of being a “Miniature Landscape of China’s Tourism”. Among the 8 main categories, 23 sub-categories and 110 basic types of cultural tourism resources in China, Ningxia covers 8 main categories, 22 sub-categories and 106 basic types.
Ningxia is home to 5 national AAAAA-level tourist attractions: Shahu Tourist Area in Shizuishan City, Shapotou Tourist Area in Zhongwei City, Western Xia Film and Television City in Yinchuan City, Shuidonggou Tourist Area in Yinchuan City, and Qingtongxia Yellow River Grand Canyon Tourist Area in Wuzhong City.
As of May 2024, Ningxia has established international friendship-city relations with 62 local governments in 43 countries across five continents.