Started from the Shuidonggou Culture thirty thousand years ago, Ningxia has a long history, extensive and profound. It can be summarized as the following nine aspects:
1. The multiculture taken Hui Culture as the dominant position.
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is the largest area in China where the Hui people live in compact communities. The forerunners of the Huis appeared on this land over 1,000 years ago. Relying on the rich water resources form the Yellow River and their hard work, the Hui people have flourished and turned this alluvial plain, hemmed in on three sides by deserts, into a livable “home of rice and fish”.
The Hui people have always maintained the costume and foods of their own distinct identity, despite the influences of the broader Islamic culture and the culture of the Han people of China.
Muslim delicacies are an important part of the culinary culture of the Hui people in Ningxia. Almost half the restaurants in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia, are Muslim ones, all offering non-greasy Muslim dishes with strong flavors. Such Muslim dishes as “mutton eaten by hand”, “mutton boiled in clear water”, “steamed mutton” and “rice with mutton” are at the lips of everybody, all dishes with strong meatballs and “Jiaban”, plus day lily, fungus, the fruit of Chinese wolfberry with beef, mutton and chicken soup. “Sanzi” (dried dough twist) is one of the traditional snacks of the Hui people, noted for its crispiness and beautiful shape.
The ancestors of Hui came from Arab nations, Persia, and other Central Asian countries that spoke Arabic, Persian, and language of Tujue. The language changed as intermingling with the Han occurred. Now, Chinese has become the common language of the Hui, while some Arabic and Persian words still remain in daily communications, religious life, and even literature works, like “zhuma” (an Arabic word meaning collective services). This is not only a characteristic, but also enriches the Chinese language.
2.Ningxia is the old revolutionary base contained profound cultural deposits and quite a lot of historical relics have been found here, such as Revolutionary History Memorial in Yanchi, Long March Memorial, and Red Army West March Memorial and so on. The rich historical and cultural relics have exerted a significant meaning in developing “the Red tourism” and facilitating revolutionary traditional education.
Through placing the red-style play like the film of “the Red Tongxin” as the dominant position, to exploit and utilize the existing red culture in a planned and ordered way so as to enhance the attraction and influence of the whole red cultural product.
3. The Silk Road Culture.
Ningxia is endowed with an important role in the Silk Road. The numerous historical cultural relics, historical sites, splendid natural scenery, and colorful local customs and conditions not only influence the national development and cultural cohesion manners and features, but also attract the tourists all over the world. All the tourist areas like Mountain Xumi Grotto, Guxiaoguan, the ancient city of Guyuan, the graveyard site of Sui and Tang Dynasty, and the relics excavated in the tomb of the minister of Northern Zhou Dynasty, are endowed with extreme rarity, features, and trademarks. The cultural achievements of the mergence of Ningxia civilization and western civilization and history will be displayed to the world through developing the Silk Road Culture.
4. The desert & Yellow River ecological culture.
Ningxia is narrow form west to east. Yet, it extends long from north to south, with the terrain ascending downwards. In the north is the Ningxia Plain, and to the south, mountains and hills. The Yellow River cuts through the middle of the region, flowing across most parts of it. The region’s main source of water, the Yellow River, irrigates more than 20,000 square meters of local farmlands.
Although two-thirds of the region is situated on the Loess Plateau and a desert area, the Yinchuan Plain commands favorable geographic conditions. The Helan Mountains serve as a natural barrier, warding of sandstorms from the Gobi Desert and highland cold fronts. Land along the banks of the Yellow River is flat, crisscrossed by irrigation canals dug from the Qin and Han dynasties over 2,000 years ago. It is said the
Yellow River has enriched Ningxia, transforming it into a natural granary.
The unique ecological culture provides the rich resources of developing tourism. The natural scenic spots are Mountain Liu Pan tourist area, the Sand Lake, Xinghai Lake, the Yellow River ecological preservation area, Shapotou and so on. In the ten sorts of the tourism resources all over the nation, Ningxia possesses eight of them, which provides the favorable condition of facilitating the tourism of Ningxia.
5. The ancient human sites and palaeontologic petrification culture.
The Shuidonggou Ruins in Ningxia’s Lingwu City are one of the richest collections of late Old Stone relics ever found in China. The archeological findings excavated in the sites have proven that the Shuidonggou Ruins are historical testimony to the ancient people who lived, flourished and fought to conquer the nature there. The precious data services as a scroll painting that presents a vivid picture of the life of the Ningxia people more than 30,000 years ago.
Helan Mountain preserves the densest distribution of rock paintings in China and the world. Take Helankou for an example. Covering 10 square km, it boasts 2,318 group cultural authorities have joined efforts with domestic and overseas experts to title the paintings extending more than 250 km north to south as “Helan Mountain Rock Art”, which has exerted a far-reaching influence at home and abroad.
明长城遗址
6. The frontier fortress army culture.
Since ancient times, Ningxia has been an important military area and transportation hub. During the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, Ningxia is one of the major inhabiting places of the minorities such as Qiang, Rong, and Xiongnu. After China was united by Emperor Qinshihuang (the first emperor of China), who sent troops to Ningxia to open up its wastelands and built part of the famous Great Wall there, Qinqu was dug and the history of irrigation in that region started. Dring the Tang Dynasty, Ningxia had developed into an important passageway for trade east and west and an important agricultural area.
The talented famous poets and generals in China’s history like Mengtian, Weiqing, Huoqubing, have formed an indissoluble bond with Ningxia and wrote graceful and elegant poems describing the beautiful scenery and customs of Ningxia.
7. The folkways and customs culture.
The folk customs culture is extensive and profound. The folkways like clay sculpture, papercuts, embroidery, fancy lantern, shadow play, Mountain Liupan Huaer, the Grand Mosque in Tongxin, Najiahu Mosque in Yongning, and the snack food of Chinese haggis and cold noodles are transferring the origin of Ningxia culture.
东方金子塔：西夏王陵
8. The mysterious Western Xia culture.
The Western Xia had a developed culture. Before its founding, it had created its own language, which was later known as the “Western Xia language”. The language was in use for over 460 years, making it the most widely used and longest surviving language during the Song and Yuan dynasties. There is a vast treasure of historical literature written in the Western Xia language.
While developing its own traditional culture, it also absorbed the culture of other peoples, especially the feudal culture of the majority Han in the central plains area. Thus Western Xia and Han languages were all used at the time. The rulers of Western Xia advocated Confucianism and developed Buddhism, making for a uniquely characteristic Western Xia culture.
At least nine imperial tombs and over 250 subordinate tombs, of the Western Xia Dynasty are standing at the food of Helan Mountain, which are renowned as the “Eastern Pyramids”, displaying the glory and refulgence of the ancient dynasty. This discovery was rated among China’s top 100 archeological finds of the 20th century, for its scientific value and important place in the history of archeology.
9. The reform and opening-up achievements culture.
Culture is progressing and developing along with times. After the reform and opening-up, especially Ninth Ningxia Autonomous Regional Party Congress, with the full support of the CPC Central Committee and the policy of regional national autonomy, the economic situation and living condition of Ningxia have been improved significantly. The development aim of Ningxia up to the year of 2015 is: staying among the leading regions of Western China in per capita GDP and the wealth of people and further shortening the gap between Ningxia and the developed regions in China. In this way, the economy, society, people, resources, and environment can be coordinated and Ningxia will be turned into a small, but wealthy, strong, and beautiful autonomous region in the near future.
