 Compared to the situation in 1958 when the Autonomous Region first came into being, today's Ningxia has made great changes in all economic and social aspects. It continues to enjoy a period of stable and fast development. In the past two years, its rate of economic development is higher than the average national rate.
 In order to improve its competitive ability, Ningxia rapidly developed its primary and secondary modes of production. In agriculture, on the basis of stable grain yield improvement, husbandry and agricultural processing industry has been improved for the efficiency of these processes. In industry, there has been development in special high tech fields to turn the resource advantages into an economic advantage.
Moreover, Ningxia is aiming for additional improvements---while enhancing the infrastructure, it is working to improve the ecological environment and better its policies to attract more money, talented people and better technology and the same time.
 Ningxia Non-ferrous Metal Smeltery is the largest manufacturer of Tantalum, Niobium and Cymbals in China. It has an annual manufacturing capacity of 120 tons of Ta powder and 60 tons of Ta wires. With the modern high technology, 95% of its products are exported to overseas and are popular in USA, Japan and Europe, making real good benefits.
In recent years, Ningxia government increases to attract more investments, seeks for
high quality projects and continues to improve its investment environment. By all these means, Ningxia high tech industry will develop vigorously.
 Interview: Mao, Sceretary of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region CPC Committee
We will make a series favorable policies on introducing foreign investment, technology, talents and management. These include policies on investment, tax and land use.
Little Giant Machinery Co. Ltd. is a Sino-Japan JV, which produces digital-control machinery.
 Interview Vice Chariman of Board, Little Giant Machinery Tool Co. Ltd.
Our cooperation with Ningxia government is very important and goes on quite smoothly. The Government offered us great help when we met difficulties. I feel very happy about it.
Interview: Ding Zheng, Assistant to General Manager, Little Giant Machinery Tool Co. Ltd.
Through introducing the technology, we will develop our own new products and improve the technological standard of Chinese machinery industry. Our Japanese partners are cooperative and we established an R&D dept. I believe that in the near future we will be able to set up our own world-known brand.
 In recent years, Ningxia applied the right of using fixed grassland and made some new policies to prevent the spread of desert such as "those who harness grassland can use; inheritable; transferable; long-term and stable". Together with the support in money and technology, it is becoming a social action of investing and harnessing desert. A great number of enterprises with actual strength are the main body of harnessing. There are also hundreds of individuals in Yanchi and Pengyang counties who also work for the harnessing. Now there are 176,000 hectares of artificial woods and nearly 40,000 hectares of air-planted woods in Ningxia. The forest area has reached to 367,000 hectares and the vegetation rate has been raised from 2.58% to 6.37%. This has initially stopped the deteriorating of ecological environment of Ningxia.
12 kilometers south to Yinchuan, the capital city of Ningxia, is a place called Xishawo, which use to a main source of sandstorm in Yinchuan. Guang Xia Group started the controlling of the spread of sand in Xishawo since 1995. They finally decided to use Chinese ephedra, which has high medical value and good results of sand-fixation. Now Xishawo is full of green and named as "State Level Ecological Model Area" by the National General Bureau of Environment Protection.
Interview: Du Yu, Director of Board, Guang Xia (Yinchuan) Industry Co. Ltd.
We controlled a desert resource. When the sandstorm came this year, you can still see dust and sands in Yinchuan but no more here.
It was not until Guang Xia Group introduced Chinese ephedra in 1996 did the village people start to believe that desert can be turned green. 32-year-old Lv Changyin contracted 100 hectares of Chinese ephedra plant area and made quite good money of about 20 to 30 thousand yuan every year. Planting ephedra not only fixes the sand but also brings considerable economic benefit.
Interview: Lv Changyin, A farmer
This is Chinese ephedra. We knew nothing about it at first, but after learning we got to know it could be made into Chinese medicine for the ephedrine in it. And it can also be used to fix the sand.
Helan is an important county for fisheries in Ningxia. The fishponds there used to be salt marsh. After 10 years of development, now there are around 3147 hectares of fishery area and accounts for 64% of all the developable area. Last year, the total aquatic product yield was 8605 tons and sold to 20 cities of neighbor provinces such as Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and Shaanxi. And it's not rare that some of the individuals even search for sales possibilities on the Internet!
Zhongning County is famous for its 600-year history of planting Chinese wolfberry. According to the economic development, Zhongning County adjusted its industrial structure by planting Chinese wolfberry as the aiding poor projects. Now there are about 2700 hectares of Chinese wolfberry planted by 10000 households and reach a yield of 3 million kilograms with an income of hundreds of million yuan.
Interview: Tian Jianhai, A farmer
CH: Hello.
Farmer: Hello and welcome. These are the newly picked Chinese wolfberry and are being dried.
C: How much land do you have?
F: About 0.27 hectares.
C: Is it easy to sell?
F: According to current market situation, the sales are fine. It's about 7 yuan per kilogram, i.e. 3000 yuan for one mu. Apart from investment, my net income is around 1000 yuan.
Chinese wolfberry is a rare Chinese medicine. Many businessmen invest on the deep processing of it and thus helps a lot in developing the plant of wolfberry in Zhongning.
Interview: Wu Hongzhi, Deputy Head of Zhongning County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
With the improving area and yield of planting Chinese wolfberry, our county government will take the deep processing of wolfberry as the key point of agricultural development. Now there are 13 factories in our county on its deep processing and has developed 17 kinds of products that are warmly welcome in the market.
Haiyuan County has rich land resources, however, the yearly arid has made its peasants rely merely on the weather. Ningxia government requires that mountain area should stop plowing and turn to forestry and planting grass. This is exactly suitable for Haiyuan County. They start scaled grass industry and choose the lucerne, a plant that is both anti-arid and can be used as forage.
Interview: Xu Cunde, Deputy Head of Hiayuan County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
Haiyuan county government takes planting lucerne as a leading industry with three aims: first, to protect ecological environment; second, to develop husbandry; third, to improve the peasants' income.
Since 1998, the scaled lucerne planting area in the whole county has reached to about 13320 hectares and 7000 hectares for scattered planting. Grass planting also stimulated husbandry development. In 1999 the income of husbandry accounts for 20% of the county annual income per capita; while under the fierce arid this year, it climbed to annually 300 yuan per capita and accounts for 1/3 of the average total income per capita.
Interview: Bai Wengui, A farmer
My village now has about 66.6 hectares of lucerne. We all realized it makes great contribution to the development of west. We all changed our ideas to raise the cows and goats with the grass we plant.
In Haiyuan, the increasing lucerne planting has brought considerable income to farmers and stimulated the development of husbandry. The future of grass planting industry is very positive, which will be certain to promote the development throughout the western region.
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