One of the five ethnic autonomous regions at provincial level, Ningxia lies in the central part of Asian continent on the upper reaches of the Yellow River in Northwest China. It is the largest dwelling place for China's Muslim population. Mosques built in both the Arabic and ancient Chinese styles can be seen everywhere in the region.

Bordering Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, is shielded from the deserts by the Helan Mountain. The landscape rises from the Ningxia Plain and E'erduosi Plateau in the north to the Liupan Mountain in the south with an average altitude of more than 1,000 metres. The feature of "easy to defend and difficult to be invaded" made it the heart of the great Western Xia Dynasty (1038-1227). The Yellow River runs from the western border to the northern through 12 cities and counties in the region. There is an old Chinese saying: "The Yellow River brings a lot of disasters except in the reaches of Ningxia." The Yellow Rivers' basin encompasses nearly 75 per cent of the Ningxia's total land area. The region has great potential in agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry. The region produces wheat, rice, oil-bearing crops, sugar beet, melons, fruits and Chinese wolfberries. Rich land resources, developed irrigation, abundant sunshine, a great difference of temperature in daytime and at night and the absence of chemical residues in the soil and water have laid the foundation of its highquality agriculture and husbandry produce.

Ningxia's major industries include coal, electric power, petroleum, limestone, mica, and asbestos. Endowed with water conservancy resources, Ningxia has a long history for agricultural production. The region has long become known as the 'lush southern-type fields in the northern frontier.' Its animal husbandry mainly relies on sheep raising. The Tan sheep and Shamao goat are well known for their fine fur. The region is also China's important herding base of cows and beef cattle. The five special local products are the Chinese wolfberry , licorice root , Helan stone carving , hair-like vegetable "facai " and sheep fur coat , the highly praised 'five colour treasures' (their names derive from their respective colours, red, yellow, blue, white and black) .

The Mausoleums of the Western Xia emperors are huge in scale and solemn in atmosphere, which are reputed as the "oriental pyramids" by tourists. The Shapotou Sand Controlling Area is an important scientific research centre for controlling sand in China. The area is feasible not only for academic investigation, but for sightseeing as well.

Tourists can drift on the Yellow River, explore the Tenger Desert, watch birds on Sand Lake and visit the Western Xia relics. Ningxia has many historical and cultural relics. East of Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia, is the Shuidonggou Relic, a place that recorded human activity as far back as 30,000 years. Since the Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasties, ancient people have used the Yellow River to irrigate farmland. The region also offers the steep, nearby vertical Helan Mountains (over 200 kilometres from north to south, 15 to 20 kilometres from east to west, and 2,000 metres above sea level, and the highest peak being 3,556 metres above sea level) , the Liupan Mountains (The mountain traverses Ningxia, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Its main peak is within Ningxia with an elevation of 2,928 metres) and the E'erduosi tablelands. Though considered a lush spot in North China, Ningxia was little known in the past because of poor communications and transportation. With rich natural tourism resources, Ningxia has begun to pull off its mysterious veil and open to the outside world as local government makes great efforts to improve the infrastructure of communications and transportation. Local government has decided to support tourism as a pillar industry to implement its share of the western development strategy of the central government. Tourism helps to provide a broad prospect for the development of Ningxia's economy in the years to come.

With its inland location, Ningxia has a fully developed transport system with railways, highways, expressways and air routes. The Baotuo-Lanzhou and Zhongwei-Baoji railways provide the region with easy access to other parts of China. By air, it takes only an hour and forty minutes to get to Beijing and two and a half hours to get to Shanghai. The region has IDD telephone connections to 195 countries and regions in the world. Such modern conveniences as faxes and the Internet have also shortened the distance between Ningxia and the rest of the world.

Dubbed "China's Bordeaux," Ningxia is also one of the top grape and wine production areas in China. Ningxia's local products such as Chinese wolfberry (a kind of medicinal fruit, is the most famous local produce in Ningxia. It is said to be helpful in treating many diseases), Helan stone and sheep's wool are well known nationwide and around the world.

Mount Xumi Grottoes

Mount Xumi Grottoes are located on the eastern slope of the mountain about 60 kilometres northwest of Guyuan County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The ideal geographical position of the mountain has a close bearing on the building of the grottoes. The area used to be a key passage on the ancient Silk Road between the East and the West and also a thoroughfare for exchanges between the Han and other ethnic groups of China. Therefore, it was the scene of many battles. In the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, people built temples on the mountain in token of their appeal for peace and stability and against war and murder as well as their faith in Buddhism.

The most celebrated place of interest in the mountain is the Giant SittingBuddha Maitreya in Grotto No 2. The Maitreya measures 26 metres in height, with its ears the length of two adults put together. The Maitreya has a benign look. It is considered a representative masterpiece of the grotto in the mountain. Grotto No 5 is tq.e biggest of its kind in the mountain. Made of a mound hollowed out, it is called the "Haloes of Xumi." The grotto consists of seven well-preserved Buddhist statues, each six metres tall, and seven Bodhisattva statues. These sculptures look mysterious and fascinating under a rays of light that enter the grotto through a hole in the mound. Subjected

to devastation by earthquakes and windstorms in its 1, 400-year history, half of

the grotto was caved-in, but it has recently been restored.

The grotto group began its construction around the time of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) and was completed in the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618907) dynasties. The Buddhist statues, which were made with an artistic approach of realism, reflect the true features of people in the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-581), the Sui and Tang dynasties.

Shahu Lake Tourist Area

This is a popular recreational area 56 kilometres north of the City of Yinchuan. I t consists of a lake and golden desert. The lake takes up 660 hectares (1,630.86 acres) and the remaining 300 hectares (741.30 acres) for the golden desert. The visitor can take a boat trip among the reeds on the lake. In the middle of the lake is a small island, about one hectare (2.471 acres) in area. Every year hundreds of thousands of migratory birds come to rest and brood on the island. This is a unique scenic spot that combines picturesque scenery south of the Yangtze River and landscape of the desert north of the Great Wall .