Xihaigu

Xihaigu is a region forming the southern tip of Ningxia, China. It consists of the seven county-level divisions Yuanzhou, Xiji, Longde, Jingyuan, Pengyang, Haiyuan and Tongxin. The former five counties being part of Guyuan city. It forms one of the poorest areas in China.[1][2] The name derives from the names of Xiji, Haiyuan and Guyuan.[3] In the 1970s, Xihaigu was named one of the "most unfit place for human settlement" by the World Food Programme due to its fragile ecology and vulnerability for droughts.[4] Due to climate change, destruction of forests during the Tang and Ming dynasty and later intensive farming and rapid population growth, the area was transformed from fertile grounds to arid land. Previously, the forests would retain water for dry periods.[5]

Xihaigu
西海固
Location of Xihaigu in Ningxia
Location of Xihaigu in Ningxia
CountryChina
RegionNingxia

The Chinese government funds water conservation technology and ecological restoration. Since 1983, there have been several rounds of forced relocation of settlements away from ecologically sensitive areas.[6]

See also
  • Dingxi, a nearby region with similar issues

References
  1. "Life without water in Xihaigu". China Dialogue. 2017-01-27. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  2. Summary of World Broadcasts: Asia, Pacific. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1998.
  3. Wang, Xiaoming (2020-08-10). Muslim Chinese—the Hui in Rural Ningxia: Internal Migration and Ethnoreligious Identification. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-220948-6.
  4. "Changes in most uninhabitable area: Understanding China's fight against poverty | english.scio.gov.cn". english.scio.gov.cn. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  5. "历史上，西海固为何从"富庶"走向"瘠苦"？都怪乾隆的馊主意_京报网". www.bjd.com.cn. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  6. In China's Ningxia province, water shortage is so severe that the government is relocating people
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