Major Cities: Yinchuan, Shizuishan, Wuzhong, Guyuan, Zhongwei, Qingtongxia .

Area: 66,000 sq km
Capital: Yinchuan
Neighboring Areas: Shaanxi and Gansu provinces; Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Altitude: 2,000 meters in the mountains; 1,000 - 1,200 meters on the plains

Population: 5.0 million
Urban Population: 1.7 million
Nationalities: Han, Hui and Manchu

Climatic Features: temperate, continental climate with long cold winter and short hot summer; low precipitation and strong winds
Average Temperature: -10 C to -7 C in January, 17 C to 24 C in July
Annual Average Rainfall: 190 - 700 mm; precipitation increasing from north to south

Physical Features: Loess Plateau in the south and east; Ningxia or Yinchuan Plain, in the north; the Yellow River traverses the Ningxia Plain; Helan Mountains along the western border; Liupan Mountains in the southwest

Products: wheat, millet, potatoes, corn, sorghum, broomcorn millet, rape, soybeans; flax, hemp; plaster stone, salt, iron
Specialties: argali sheep hide and wool, facai, wolfberry fruit, licorice root, and Helan stone (collectively known as the region's "five treasures")