Hongsibu District

Hongsibu is located 127 kilometres (79 mi) south of the regional capital Yinchuan.[2] It covers an area of 3,523 square kilometres (1,360 sq mi)[3] in a basin bounded by Mount Niushou (牛首山, 1,774 m (5,820 ft)) in the north, Mount Yantong (烟筒山, 1,715 m (5,627 ft)) in the west and Mount Luo (罗山, 2,624 m (8,609 ft)) in the east;[4] the last has been designated a National Nature Reserve.[5] The terrain is higher in the south than the north and the elevation generally ranges between 1240 and 1450 m above sea level.[2]

Hongsibu first appears as a place name during the Ming dynasty.[2]

Beginning in 1998, the area now comprising the district was chosen as a resettlement location for people from drought-stricken areas of southern Ningxia.[6] In the most ambitious scheme of its kind in China,[7] water was diverted from the Yellow River to create and irrigate 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi) of new agricultural land.[2] The administrative district was established in 2009.[3]

Hongsibu District is divided into the towns of Hongsibu (红寺堡镇) and Taiyangshan (太阳山镇) and the townships of Xinzhuangji (新庄集乡), Dahe (大河乡) and Liuquan (柳泉乡),[2] the last of which was created in 2014 from the western part of Xinzhuangji.[8] The District Party Committee Secretary is Ding Jiancheng (丁建成) and the District Governor is Tan Xingling (谭兴玲).[9]

At the end of 2015 the population of Hongsibu District was estimated at 197,350, of which 29.23% lived in urban areas.[10] The district recorded a population of 165,016 in the 2010 national census[11] and 51,875 in the 2000 census.[8]

Hongsibu District's gross domestic product was estimated at CN¥1.56 billion in 2015.[10]

The Dingwu, Fuyin and Gunhong expressways run through the northern part of the district, as does the Taiyuan–Zhongwei–Yinchuan Railway.[2] The Hongsibu Solar Park is located in the district.