Eradicating the Roots of Poverty

THE Yellow River running through northern Ningxia has created the greatest abundance of all the river valley areas along the vastplain that accounts for 41 percent of theregion's territory. Fertile soil and rich water resources have made it one of Chi- na's major granaries. Conditions here contrast sharply with those in Ningxia's larger mountainous south, whose main topographical features are gullied loess mesas. Here, the local mean temperature is 6 degrees Celsius, water resources av- era…