The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (Chinese: 西夏; pinyin: Xī Xià; Wade–Giles: Hsi1 Hsia4), officially the Kingdom of the Great Xia of the White and Lofty (Tangut: 𗴂𗹭𘜶𗴲𗂧) or Great Xia (大夏; Dà Xià; Ta4 Hsia4), also known as the Tangut Empire, was a Tangut-led imperial dynasty of China that existed from 1038 to 1227 AD. At its peak, the dynasty ruled over 800,000 square kilometres (310,000 square miles) of modern-day north-central China.