From Sep. 19 to 23, 2011, the International Press Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Affairs Office of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region jointly invited the foreign journalists based in China to report 2011 China (Ningxia) International Investment & Trade Fair and the 2nd China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum and cover latest local developments including ecological migrants, new energy industry, desert control, and Muslim culture. Nearly 30 journalists from 20 media agencies in 15 countries including the United States, France, Germany, Switzerland, Egypt, Malaysia, Turkey, India, Kazakhstan, and South Africa participated in the reporting tour.

China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum – Joining Hands for Common Development

Located in the northwest part of China, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is one of the five autonomous regions in China. It is also known as "Jiangnan (areas south of the Yangtze River) in the North". In September, Ningxia ushered in the harvest season. 2011 China (Ningxia) International Investment & Trade Fair and the 2nd China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum was held from Sep. 21 to 25 in Yinchuan. The event consists of 34 activities in four major segments: summit meeting, exhibition and exposition, trade talks and cultural exchanges. CPPCC Chairman Jia Qinglin attended the opening ceremony and the summit meeting. The theme of the forum is to "Pass on Friendship, Deepen Cooperation and Achieve Common Development". It provides a high-level platform of dialogue for people from China, Arab states and other Islamic countries, establishes a new international cooperation mechanism for countries to promote their economic and trade policies, have interactions and exchange information. It attracted over 7,000 guests from China and abroad.

The media group reported the press conference, the opening ceremony and the summit meeting of the forum, visited China International Halal Food and Muslim Products Fair, China-Arab States Energy and Chemical Products Exhibition, China-Arab States Economic, Trade and Cultural Exchange Exhibition, and China-Arab States Calligraphy, Painting, Photograph and Folk Custom and Culture Exhibition and enjoyed the art performance with strong Chinese and Arabic features. The journalists came to the site to have live experience of the extensive and intensive exchanges between China and Arab states in economy, trade, energy, culture and other areas and the important outcome that have been achieved. The journalists from Islamic countries were particularly interested in the event. They tried to seize every opportunity to interview the famous personages from China and Arab states attending the event and even had live broadcast of the event back to their headquarters.

Ecological Migration Project - A New Starting Point for a Happy Life

This year is the first year of the 12th "Five-Year Plan". The ecological migration project in central and southern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was formally launched with the goal of relocating 350,000 ecological migrants. This is not only a livelihood project aiming to improve the living environment of local people, but also an ecological engineering project aiming to preserve and improve local ecological environment. The journalists came to Yongning, a county not far away from Yinchuan. 17,800 migrants would be relocated here during the 12th "Five-Year Plan" period. When they came to the resettlement points, the first thing they saw was rows of houses with red-brick tiles. They visited the settlement houses with great interest and asked the local official responsible for the project, "Have the immigrants moved here on a voluntary basis? How do they live when they move their new homes here?" The responsible person explained, "The project is a livelihood project. The immigrants moved here on a voluntary basis. The government is responsible for the overall arrangements of resettlement houses and the construction of supporting facilities. Yongning County will help immigrants get rich through the development of fruit trees, labor training and other ways. The county will ensure that each household can get 54-square-meter house, 2000 square-meter irrigated land, a warm greenhouse and a job. They can live a new semi-industrial and semi-agricultural life. In this way, the immigrants are willing to move out and stay in our county for long and they can get rich too."

Subsequently, the journalists went to interview local farmers. Ma Guowen moved out from Xiji (a mountainous region) and settled in Yongning in 1998. He only spent 2,000 yuan on building the resettlement houses with the help of the government. In Xiji, the annual income of the family at that time was a bit more than 400 yuan. Over the last ten years and more, the annual income of the family reached tens of thousands of yuan through the plantation of grapes and aquaculture development. They gradually lived a prosperous life. Now the three generations of his family are living under one roof. They have four principal houses and two side rooms. There is a separate kitchen and a separate bathroom. The jujubes on his courtyard are full of fruits like small and bright red lanterns to light up the happy life of Ma's family.

Ningxia Islamic Institute – A Cradle of Islamic Talents

Ningxia is China's largest area where the Hui ethnic group concentrates. Local residents believe in Islam. In order to enhance journalists' understanding of the Islamic culture in China, a special trip was arranged to visit the Ningxia Islamic Institute. The Institute was established in 1985, with the goal to foster senior religious professionals who love the country and the Islam and who have rich scientific, cultural and religious knowledge. The journalists were warmly welcomed by the teachers and students at the entrance of the Institute. The Institute consists of a compound of buildings with strong Islamic architectural features. White is the base color, decorated with dark green. The journalists were deeply impressed by the grand architectures of the Institute, which include porch at the entrance, the ring corridor in the central hall, a round vault of the grand worship hall and a minaret.

Ma Mingxian, President of the Institute, warmly received the journalists and answered their questions. There are 52 teachers and 300 students in the Institute. They have academic exchanges with many institutes of Islamic countries. The Institute so far has trained more than 2,000 Islamic religious professionals. The Institute will hold entrance examination in July each year. The exams include Hadith, Arabic, history, literature ​​and other subjects. After graduating from high school, students will normally study in the local mosques for one to two years and then they would participate in the entrance examination of the Institute. After they are enrolled, students mainly learn "Koran", ilm al-tafsir, Hadith, Arabic, Islamic history, the history of Hui, Chinese and foreign histories and geography, the Chinese language and other courses.

The journalists watched the students worshipping in the mosque of the Institute and reciting the "Koran". They then visited the teaching building of the Institute. In one classroom, students were learning the Arabic language and a female teacher from Yemen was teaching the freshmen the pronunciation of the Arabic language; in another classroom, the students were learning the history of Chinese literature and a male student was reciting the "Sky Goddess" fluently. "... So she melted rocks of five colors to mend the sky ... Thus the sky was mended, its four corners lifted, the flood tamed, Jizhou pacified, and harmful birds and beasts killed, and the innocent people were able to live on the square earth under the dome of the sky."

Before leaving the cradle of Islamic talents, the journalists sent their blessings to the students for their success in their fields of study.

Development of New Energies – Taking-off of Both Photovoltaic Power and Wind Power

The solar radiation is greater than 6000 MJ/M2 in Ningxia Wuzhong Taiyangshan Development Zone and the average wind speed is above 6 m/s. Therefore, the place has the advantages in developing both solar power and wind power. The journalists came to visit this important clean energy base with great interest.

It was midday time when the journalists arrived. Everything was under the baking sun of midday. They saw tens of thousands of blue photovoltaic panels just like the sparkling sea. With sunlight, they can generate power. Not far away, the white wind turbines tens of meters high were standing in the desert. The blades were rotating with the wind. The wind energy can also be transformed into valuable power energy. The designer of the Zone proudly told the journalists that since the development and construction since 2004, the Zone has realized an installed capacity of 100 megawatts of photovoltaic power generation and 300 megawatts of wind power generation. It is planned that by 2015 the region will realize an installed capacity of 1000 megawatts of photovoltaic power generation and 1000 megawatts of wind power generation. People in this region were once worried about such a large area of ​​desert, but today they are making great efforts to develop green energy and this region is again full of vitality.

Desert Control - Sowing Seeds of Life

Ningxia is one of the regions in China experiencing serious desertification, but the people here did not bow to the harsh natural conditions. They worked hard to control desertification. The Baijitan Sand-Control Farm in Lingwu was built in 1953. It is located in the southwest edge of Maowusu Desert. Over the past half a century and more, two generations in Baijitan have fought against the sand and the cold. They created a green shield 42 km long from east to west and 10 km wide from south to north in the southwest edge of Maowusu Desert. They successfully controlled 350,000 mu of quicksand and stopped the expansion of the desert.

Before they went to Ningxia, the journalists have already heard about Baijitan Sand-Control Farm and Wang Youde, a "National Desert Hero" of China. When they arrived at the farm, they saw endless one-meter squares of wheat straw in the vast desert. Grass and sea buckthorn are growing in the squares. Wang Youde, an over-50-year-old tall guy with dark complexion appeared in front of the journalists. He was immediately surrounded. A curious journalist asked, "How can the small grass squares prevent sand?" Wang Youde answered with a smile, "The grass squares are good helpers. The straw is not perishable. Bundle the straw into the desert and leave a dozen centimeters above the sand. Then form squares and put some grass seeds into the square. On one hand, it can make the surface rough and reduce the wind speed and on the other hand it can retain moisture and improve the water content of sand, which are conducive to the survival of sand plant." The straw appeared to be weak, but with grass squares connecting with one another, it can firmly fix the flying sand, protect the green in the desert and curb the expansion of the desert.

Another journalist asked, "You have been here to control sand for decades. What are the most important experiences?" "The wisdom of the working people is infinite, we have accumulated a variety of sand control methods and experiences, but for me the most important thing is persistence." The heartfelt comments were very meaningful. Wang then invited them to the orchard. There were different varieties of apples and the fruits were so heavy that they bend the branches. The farm also built up southern-style pavilions surrounding a pool of water from the Yellow River. In this beautiful pavilions, the journalists were eating the fruits they picked by themselves and enjoying the beautiful scene. They even forgot that they were in the desert. Recalling Wang's comments, so long as human being keep doing it, the barren desert can be turned to an oasis full of life in the future.

Having concluded the three-day reporting tour, the journalists boarded the return flight. They were still excited to share what they saw, heard and felt in Ningxia. In the first decade for the great development of the western region, Ningxia has made important achievements in the economic, social, livelihood, environmental protection and other fields. At the beginning of the second decade for the great development of the western region, the journalists came to record the unlimited beauty and the latest developments in Ningxia. We look forward to the continued success of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on the way to a better future.