ABSTRACT
Ningxia University (“Ningda”) is in Yinchuan, Ningxia, the Hui Muslim Autonomous Region in northwest China. With a 40% minority population, Ningda was a very different experience from the author’s two previous teaching experiences in China. The national government is investing heavily to more fully integrate Hui people into dominant Han culture. This investment is evident in the support for Hui education at every level, from new well-funded schools in remote parts of Ningxia to the support for Hui minority students at Ningda. Minority culture is a perspective on China that is not well understood or appreciated in the West. Though the outward signs of Hui Muslim culture are subtle—e.g., few female students wear the hijab—the sociocultural dimensions are deep and profound when it comes to marriage, employment prospects, foodways, rural poverty, and education. But Ningxia is China, and understanding this region requires transcending well-established tropes of life in large coastal cities.
