Ningxia,full name Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,is a Hui autonomous region of the People´s Republic of China, located on the northwest Loess highland, the Yellow River flows through a vast area of its land. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, established on October 25th, 1958, is bordered by Inner Mongolia to the north and west, Shaanxi to the east and Gansu to the south. The region is mostly mountains and plains with little truly fertile land.The Chinese Moslems, the Huis, make up 1/3 of the population of the region.Around 1000 AD, the Tangut kingdom of Western Xia was centered in Ningxia, and often in conflist with the Song, Liao, and Jin dynasties. In 189 years the throne changed hands ten times. Eventually it was overrun by the Mongols and absorbed into the Chinese empire of its day. Marco Polo visited it at around that time.
The region is 1,200 km from the sea and has a continental climate with average summer temperatures rising to between 17 and 2424degree celsius in July and average winter temperatures dropping to between -7 and -1024 degree celsius in January. Seasonal extreme temperatures can reach 3924degree celsius in summer and -3024degree celsius in winter. The diurnal temperature variation in summer is 1724degree celsius. Annual rainfall averages from 190 to 700 millimeters, with more rain falling in the south of the region.
