Ning Xia: Dramatic Changes Over the Past 50 Years

By staff reporter LU RUCAI

    Wang Zhengwei, chairman of the government of Ning-xia Hui Autonomous Region, summarizes its situation succinctly. "Ningxia is neither east nor west, but in the very center of China; Ningxia's altitude is neither high nor low, with its capital, Yinchuan, situated at 1,090 meters above sea level; and Ningxia's climate is neither hot nor cold, and many people like to come here to escape the summer heat," he says.

    Ningxia is one of China's smallest provincial-level administrative regions, and its central area is frequently hit by drought, a situation that once stymied local agricultural development. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Autonomous Region's founding. Summing up the changes of the past half century, Wang Zhengwei says that its GDP has achieved a breakthrough, rising from RMB 329 million in 1958 to RMB 88.92 billion in 2007, a 59-fold increase.

    In that time, its grain production has increased greatly, and per capita grain reserves now average 530 kilograms. As a result, Ningxia no longer needs to import grain from other areas. Fifty years ago it had no industry. Now, it has built a modern industrial system that includes energy, chemicals, new materials, equipment manufacturing and processing of agricultural and by-products. Its per capita electricity generation ranks first nationwide, and its per capita coal production ranks third in the country.

    Ningxia covers an area of just 66,400 square kilometers, but it is rich in natural resources. "Ningxia has a small territory, but abundant resources," says Wang Zhengwei, chairman of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region government.

    Ningxia's Shizuishan is one of China's 10 coal areas planned and constructed in the 1950s, and Shizuishan became a city based on its coal mines. Zhang Bawu, deputy director of Ningxia's Development and Reform Commission, says that Shizuishan's position as a coal base will be replaced by the Ningdong Coalfield.

    The Ningdong Energy and Chemical Base is 40 kilometers from Yinchuan, capital of the autonomous region. It looks brand new, with multi-story buildings, clean streets and blue skies. According to Zhang, the Ningdong area, based on the Ningdong Coalfield, is one of China's thirteen 100-million-ton-class coal bases, with proven coal reserves of 27 billion tons, making up 85 percent of Ningxia's total coal reserves.

    Wang says that people worry about the environmental pollution that could result from building such a large base, but he has an answer to those concerns. "No polluting projects will be approved in Ningdong, and all the projects have the lowest energy consumption in their class," he says. He is able to be so confident because environmental evaluation is the threshold to enter the base. Indeed, the Ningdong Energy and Chemical Base is the only one so far to have obtained approval from the State Administration for Environmental Protection. Wang cites an example. The coal-to-olefin project produces a minimum of pollution, and has been designated as a demonstration area for a recyclable economy because of its achievements in energy savings, pollution reduction and sustainable development.

    The Ningdong Base comprises three areas: the coal base, the thermal energy base, and the coal chemical base. By 2020, it will become the main source of China's west-to-east electricity transmission. During its operation, Ningxia has introduced large-scale central enterprises, such as the China Shenhua Group, to reorganize its local enterprise resources. After reorganization, the Shenhua-Ningxia Coal Industry Group was founded, with Shenhua holding 51 percent of the shares and Ningxia holding 49 percent. Wang Zhengwei says, "Many people complain that Ningxia loses out on that deal, but actually we have our own advantages. Using the initial investment from Shenhua, several advanced projects have begun construction in Ningxia. That is unprecedented in Ningxia's history."

    And the construction of the Ningdong Base is just the beginning. It is expected to be completed in 2020, and its total investment will amount to RMB 200 billion. Once it begins operation, its additional annual industrial added value will be RMB 30 billion, bringing about nearly RMB 90 billion in production value for related industries, equivalent to "building a New Ningxia."