Yinchuan in Ningxia Autonomous Region south of Mongolia plans to build a large Muslim distribution centre to boost trade with the Middle East and other Islamic states, reports Xinhua.
    The city will build three areas with five centres focused on the Islamic foods with a development zone and bonded area, and an experimental plot for international economic cooperation.
    There will also be certification authority offices for Muslim foodstuff, a trading logistics centre, an Islam financial centre, a Sino-Arab exhibition and a research and development centre.
    Yinchuan, the Ningxia capital with 1.6 million people, hopes to make its Muslim industry value reach US$2.23 billion (CNY15 billion) in five years' work and its industry grow at a rate of 20 per cent annually.
    The 3rd Yinchuan Muslim Food Festival was held a year ago in Yinchuan, where people sampled Muslim snacks and witnessed cooking contests to make "whole sheep feasts" and "whole fish feasts".

Source: Shipping Gazette