Ningxia's wines making the transition to the top table

Beating desertification

Yang Ying, a staff member at the vineyard, said Yinchuan's location in Northwest China meant the land was heavily desertified in the past. However, the sparse sandy soil, which is rich in trace elements, is suitable for grape cultivation.

Now, the continuous planting of grapevines in Ningxia has played an effective role in lowering wind speeds and fixing the sandy soil.

"Compared with 10 years ago, there are fewer days of windy and sandy weather now," Yang said.

At the end of the last century, the government, businesses and people from all walks of life in Ningxia realized the importance of protecting the local ecosystem and improving the environment. As a result, large areas of green forests were planted at roughly the same time.

As of 2021, Yinchuan had more than 333,000 hectares of ecological afforestation, with a forest coverage rate of 13.5 percent and a built-up area greenery rate of 40.68 percent, ranked first among provincial capitals in Northwest China.