Ningxia

Huang He; Ningxia

Ningxia, conventional Ningsia, in full Hui Autonomous Region of Ningxia, Chinese (Pinyin) Ningxia Huizu Zizhiqu or (Wade-Giles romanization) Ning-hsia-hui-tsu Tzu-chih-ch’ü, autonomous region located in north-central China. It is bounded to the east in part by Shaanxi province; to the east, south, and west by Gansu province; and to the north by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Most of the region is desert, but the vast plain of the Huang He (Yellow River) in the north has been irrigated for agriculture for centuries. Its capital is Yinchuan, situated in the north a short distance west of the Huang He. Present-day Ningxia was nearly all within the ancient kingdom of the Tangut people, known in China as the Xi (Western) Xia; after its conquest by Chinggis (Genghis) Khan, it was named Ningxia (“Peaceful Xia”). Area 25,600 square miles (66,400 square km). Pop. (2020) 7,202,654.