With its 66,400 sq km, Ningxia makes up only 0.69 percent of China's territory. Composed of a plain that is crossed by the Huanghe River and cradled by three deserts in the north and arid mountains in the south, Ningxia is one of the poorest places in the country.
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was established in 1958. Its culture and history are strongly influenced by Islam which is practiced by the Hui people, the descendants of Central Asian, Persian, and Arabic peoples, making this autonomous region a land rich in color and variety.
Among the persons introduced in this book, at least seven later became bearers of the Olympic Torch in Ningxia. They include the writer Zhang Xianliang, the desert-greening workers Wang Youde and Bai Chunlan, the actress Liu Ping, the Ningxiahong winery president Zhang Jinshan, the president of a residential community committee Sun Xianmei, and the theater master and pioneer Wang Zhihong.

About the author
After a teaching career in Canada, where she was born, Lisa Carducci found China to be the most favourable place for her writing. Author of more than 40 books and 2,000 articles, she aims to improve, year after year, her knowledge of the Chinese culture's many diverse features. However, this experience of China would not make sense to her if she did not share it with "those who don't have the chance to discover it on the ground".
In 2001, Lisa Carducci was granted the Friendship Award of the People's Re- public of China, and, in 2005, permanent residence status. From the same author, in the same collection: Ces gens merveilleux du Xinjiang ISBN 978-7-119-05179-6 These Wonderful People of Xinjiang ISBN 978-7-119-05180-2 Ces gens merveilleux du Guangxi (to be published) These Wonderful People of Guangxi (to be published)