Ningxia tribal and village rugs

The Ningxia autonomous region of China lies in the Northwest part of the historically Han Chinese domain.  Home of the Hui people, an ethnically Chinese group who practice Islam, Ningxia is the historic center of rug weaving in China proper (excluding the Turkic far western Xinjiang province).  

Ningxia rugs exhibit a distinct Chinese aesthetic. Although they are akin to rugs from West and Central Asia in the overall compositional formats they utilize, they bear little similarity in terms of the motifs or color spectrum employed.  While most tribal and village rugs contain a wide array of brilliant colors, Ningxia rugs typically utiliize subtle shadings of a few different colors, creating a harmonious effect.