The Dulaan Winery Town is a key construction project in the development of the grape and wine industry, with a planned area of 220.2 hectares and a total investment of 2.5 billion yuan.
It is set to boost the integrated development of grape planting, wine brewing and wine tourism, said Zheng Zifeng, CEO of the Ningxia Dulaan Winery.
With its unique resources and geographical advantages, Ningxia has developed more quickly than any other provincial-level region in China over the past decade, with an average annual GDP growth of 7.1 percent, half a percentage point higher than the national level.
The upper reaches of the Yellow River runs through Ningxia. [Photo/China Daily]
Liang Yanshun, Party secretary of the region, said the area's GDP exceeded 200 billion yuan in 2011, 300 billion yuan in 2016 and 400 billion yuan last year, with its per capita GDP nearly doubling.
"The past decade has also witnessed the nation's fastest development in terms of both quality and quantity in Ningxia, as well as the biggest changes in the region's urban and rural areas," Liang said.
Clean energy has also greatly expanded since the region became China's first comprehensive demonstration area of new energy in 2012.
Zhang Yupu, chairman of Ningxia, said the installed capacity of wind power and other new energy sources has reached 28.4 million kilowatts, ranking third in China.
This is in line with China's greening plans. The nation is aiming to reach its carbon dioxide emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.
According to officials, the generation capacity for wind and solar power in Ningxia will exceed 50 million kilowatts by 2025, accounting for more than 55 percent of the region's installed capacity.
As a main battleground for poverty alleviation, Ningxia has achieved success in improving the quality of life for its residents. The region's Xihaigu prefecture, one of the poorest areas in China that was labeled the "most unfit place for human settlement" by the United Nations in the 1970s, has eradicated extreme poverty.
In addition, Liang said all of Ningxia's nine counties, with a population of 803,000 rural residents, have been lifted out of poverty, and the region has achieved a balance between high-speed development and environmental protection.
As a region in the upper arm of the Yellow River, Ningxia has implemented strict measures on ecological and environmental protection to guarantee the water quality of downstream regions.
The region's forest coverage has increased from 11.9 percent to 16.9 percent over the past decade, and its cities have maintained good air quality more than 80 percent of the time for six consecutive years.