Bayanhot is a town in Alxa Left Banner, it is the capital and largest town of Alxa League. Its name originates from Mongolian meaning 'rich town'. It was formerly known as Dingyuanying () or Wang Ye Fu. In 2010 the population was 94,445.
The town is bordered by the
Helan Mountains
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 ...
in the east and by the
Tengger Desert
The Tengger Desert or Tengri Desert (, ) is an arid natural region that covers about 36,700 km2 and is mostly in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China.
The desert is expanding in size.Haner, Josh, et al. (24 October 2016)Living in C ...
in the west.
The town was established in 1730 as Dingyuanying and renamed to Bayanhot in 1952. It has historically been supplied from nearby
Yinchuan
Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut people, Tangut-led Western Xia, Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 C ...
, and still retains good transport links with the capital of Ningxia.
The Alxa Baraghun Hiid, a large Mongol Buddhist monastery was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution but rebuilt in 2001. The Yanfu Buddhist temple has survived as one of the old Mongol town landmarks.
References
{{PRChina-geo-stub
Alxa League
Township-level divisions of Inner Mongolia