Helan Mountains | |||||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||||
Chinese | 贺兰山 | ||||||||||
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Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
Chinese | 阿拉善山 | ||||||||||
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Mongolian name | |||||||||||
Mongolian Cyrillic | Алшаауул | ||||||||||
Mongolian script | |||||||||||
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Tangut name | |||||||||||
Tangut | 𗲡𗝢𘑗 | ||||||||||
Miyake transcription | 2hin1 1lan1 1ngyr1 |
The Helan Mountains,frequently called Alashan Mountains in older sources,are an isolated desert mountain range forming the border of Inner Mongolia's Alxa League and Ningxia. They run north-south parallel to the north-flowing Yellow River in the Ordos Loop section. The river is mostly east of the mountains,but in the north it crosses without making a significant gorge and flows on the west side. To the west lies the extremely arid Tengger Desert,while to the east is an irrigated area beside the Yellow River,in which lie the cities of Yinchuan and Shizuishan - a little further east of which lies the Mu Us portion of the Ordos Desert. To the north lies the Inner Mongolian city of Wuhai.
They are about 200 kilometres (120 mi) from north to south,from 15 to 50 kilometres (9.3 to 31.1 mi) wide and average about 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in altitude (the Yellow River here is about 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) above sea level). Their highest peak is 3,556 metres (11,667 ft).
With the increasing popularity of Ningxia wines,the Chinese authorities have given approval to the development of the eastern base of the Helan Mountains as an area suitable for wine production. Several large Chinese wine companies including Changyu and Dynasty Wine have begun development in the western region of the province. Together they now own 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of land for planting vineyards and Dynasty has ploughed 100 million yuan into Ningxia. In addition,the major oil company China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation has founded a vineyard near the Helan Mountains. The household appliance company Midea has also begun participating in Ningxia's wine industry. [1]
Inner Mongolia,officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a small section of China's border with Russia. Its capital is Hohhot;other major cities include Baotou,Chifeng,Tongliao,and Ordos.
Ningxia,officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province,Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1954 but was later separated from Gansu in 1958 and reconstituted as an autonomous region for the Hui people,one of the 56 officially recognised nationalities of China. Twenty percent of China's Hui population lives in Ningxia.
Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,China,and was the capital of the Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of 8,874.61 km2 (3,426.51 sq mi) and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 Chinese census,and its built-up area was home to 2,564,918 inhabitants spread between three urban districts and Helan and Yongning counties largely being urbanized. The city's name literally means "silver river".
The Ordos Desert is a desert/steppe region in Northwest China,administered under the prefecture of Ordos City in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. It extends over an area of approximately 90,650 km2 (35,000 sq mi),and comprises two sub-deserts:China's 7th-largest desert,the Kubuqi Desert,in the north;and China's 8th-largest desert,the Mu Us Desert,in the south. Wedged between the arable Hetao region to the north and the Loess Plateau to the south,the soil of the Ordos Desert is mostly a mixture of dry clay and sand,and as a result is poorly suited for agriculture.
Shizuishan,formerly Shizuizi,is a prefecture-level city in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is the northernmost prefecture in Ningxia and the second most populous,after the regional capital Yinchuan,bordered by Inner Mongolia to all directions except the south. Shizuishan sits on the western bank of the Yellow River on the western side of the Ordos Loop. It was formerly a center for caravans traveling the northern routes to and from Beijing across the Ordos Desert.
Wuzhong is a prefecture-level city in the Ningxia autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It was known as Yinnan Prefecture before it was upgraded to a prefecture-level city in 1998. In 2019,Wuzhong had a population of 1.4 million. Wuzhong is located in the Northwest of China,with the Yellow River flowing through the center of the city.
Ordos,also known as Ih Ju,is one of the twelve major subdivisions of Inner Mongolia,China. It lies within the Ordos Plateau of the Yellow River. Although mainly rural,Ordos is administered as a prefecture-level city. Its population was 2,153,638 as of the 2020 census,and its built-up area made up of Ejin Horo Banner and Kangbashi District was home to 366,779 inhabitants,as Dongsheng District is not a conurbation yet.
Dongsheng District is a District and the seat of Ordos City,Inner Mongolia,China. It has a district population of 574,242. The district is predominantly Han Chinese,but has a significant Mongol minority.
Alxa League or Alashan League is one of 12 prefecture level divisions and 3 extant leagues of Inner Mongolia. The league borders Mongolia to the north,Bayan Nur to the northeast,Wuhai and Ordos to the east,Ningxia to the southeast,and Gansu to the south and west. The capital is Bayanhot Town,formerly known as Dingyuanying (定远营镇) or Wang Ye Fu,in the aimag's Left Banner. The Mongolian variety spoken in this area is the Alasha dialect.
The Helan Shan pika or silver pika is a species of mammal in the pika family,Ochotonidae. It is endemic to China where it is found in a small region of the Helan Mountains. It is listed as "Endangered" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as of 2016.
The Western Xia mausoleums occupy an area of some 50 km2 (19 sq mi) at the foot of the Helan Mountains in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of northwestern China,and include nine imperial mausoleums and 250 tombs of imperial relatives and officials of China's Western Xia dynasty. This burial complex lies some 40 km (25 mi) westward from capital city of the Western Xia,the Xingqing fu or Xingqing,what is modern-day Yinchuan,capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Helan County is a county of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,China,it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yinchuan,the capital of Ningxia,and borders Inner Mongolia to the northwest. It has a total area of 1,600 km2 (620 sq mi),and a population of approximately 180,000 people.
Ejin is a banner in the far west of Inner Mongolia,China. It is under the administration of Alxa League and is the westernmost county-level division of Inner Mongolia,bordering Gansu province to the west and Mongolia's Bayankhongor and Govi-Altai Provinces. Its seat is located at Dalaihob Town. To the west,it shares a border with Subei Mongol Autonomous County of Jiuquan,Gansu.
Hetao is a C-shaped region in northwestern China consisting of a collection of flood plains stretching from the banks of the northern half of the Ordos Loop,a large northerly rectangular bend of the Yellow River,that forms the river's entire middle section. The region makes up the northern margin of the Ordos Basin,bounded in the west by the Helan Mountains,the north by the Yin Mountains,the east by the northern portion of Lüliang Mountains,and the south by the Ordos Desert and the Loess Plateau.
The Ordos Plateau,also known as the Ordos Basin or simply the Ordos,is a highland sedimentary basin in parts of most Northern China with an elevation of 1,000–1,600 m (3,300–5,200 ft),and consisting mostly of land enclosed by the Ordos Loop,a large northerly rectangular bend of the Yellow River. It is China's second largest sedimentary basin with a total area of 370,000 km2 (140,000 sq mi),and includes territories from five provinces,namely Shaanxi,Gansu,Ningxia,Inner Mongolia and a thin fringe of Shanxi,but is demographically dominated by the former three,hence is also called the Shaan-Gan-Ning Basin. The basin is bounded in the east by the Lüliang Mountains,north by the Yin Mountains,west by the Helan Mountains,and south by the Huanglong Mountains,Meridian Ridge and Liupan Mountains.
Baisigou Square Pagoda was a brick pagoda in Helan County,Ningxia,China,built during the early years of the Western Xia dynasty (1038–1227),circa 1075–1076. It is situated in an isolated location about 10 km into the Baisigou Valley on the eastern side of the Helan Mountains,northwest of Yinchuan,but may have been the site of an important Buddhist temple during the Western Xia. The pagoda was illegally destroyed in 1990;archaeological investigation of the ruins has uncovered a large number of Tangut artefacts and Buddhist relics,including books and manuscripts written in the Tangut language and script.
A Ningxia wine is any wine produced in the Chinese province of Ningxia. Since large producers moved into the region in the 1980s and local producer successes at wine competitions in the 2010s spurred further development,Ningxia has become one of the premier wine regions in China.
The Hongfo Pagoda,meaning 'Grand Buddha Pagoda',is an octagonal brick pagoda located in Helan County,just north of Yinchuan city,in Ningxia,China. The pagoda was built during the Western Xia (1038–1227),and when it was renovated in 1990 a number of Western Xia statues and printed texts were discovered.
Guangzong Temple,more commonly known as the Southern Temple (南寺),is a Buddhist temple located in Bieli Town of Alxa Left Banner,Inner Mongolia,China.
Yinchuan Plain,also called the Yinchuan–Wuzhong Plain or Xitao Plain (西套平原) or Ningxia Plain (宁夏平原),is a plain located in the north central part of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,China.