Zhe Xie Ning Xia Ren（Fa Wen）

My tenth journey in Ningxia will have been the longest and the one I will have 　completed with the most meticulous observation, as this time it was a matter of collec- ting stories and accounts to share with you, the readers.After introducing the wonderful people of China's largest region, Xinjiang, last year, I focused on the smallest one of the country's continent. How rich are the human resources and how great and moving were the stories the Ningxia people had to tell me! From the army veteran Du Licheng, who became engaged at 16 in the Liberation War, to the imam of Nanguan Mosque where, on July 1, 1997, several Hongkong Mus- lims came to celebrate their return to the motherland; from the famous writer Zhang Xianliang, who set up a 'Chinese Hollywood,' to the four Hui or Han university students who, even though very young, have already performed kind and memorable acts; from Bai Chunlan, an illiterate peasant who, in 28 years, planted 100,000 trees by herself, to Wang Youde who, since 1985, has led teams of workers in transforming the desert into orchards and forests, while improving at the same time hundreds of peo- ples' lives. So many other people's stories will surprise, entertain, and move you.