I have read, variously, that Ningxia is China's 2nd, 3rd and 5th poorest province. To me it is indistinguishable from the others in that regard. Almost everyone wears clothes that make them look good. No matter how dirty the job they have to do, the people wear clean clothes to do it. As in the US, judging "wealth" using only per capita income gets innacurate results. After 3 weeks in Ningxia it is clear that I could live here on $10/day--half of my expenses in Beijing. (In both cases the amount would be lower if I were to share a dorm-style room.)
Since the government owns all the land, the Farmer can't count "his" land as an asset. Crops and critters he raises for his own consumption don't count as income. As elsewhere in China, no one considers working under the table or submitting personal expense receipts for reimbursal by their employer or using bogus tax deductions or getting into a place free because a friend works there or offering discounted unofficial access to tourist sites to be unethical. At least, no one I've met. The government publicizes its position on many topics but I haven't seen any of these addressed. I guess they know not to sweat the small stuff, or they figure, "What are ya gonna do?"
