Otog Banner ( Mongolian: ; zh, c=鄂托克旗) is a banner of southwestern

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

, China. It is under the administration of

Ordos City Ordos, also known as Ih Ju, is one of the twelve List of administrative divisions of Inner Mongolia, major subdivisions of Inner Mongolia, China. It lies within the Ordos Plateau of the Yellow River. Although mainly rural, Ordos is administered ...

, and borders Otog Front Banner to the southwest and Uxin Banner to the southeast.

History

Evidence of human habitation in present-day Otog Banner dates back to the

Neolithic era The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

, when the area was inhabited by the Hetao people (). According to the banner's government, the area was ruled over by the

Shang Dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

during its existence. During this time, the area was inhabited by the , the Guifang, and other fang-countries, in addition to the and

Xunyu The Xunyu (; Old Chinese: (Reconstructions of Old Chinese#Zhengzhang (1981–1995), ZS) *''qʰun-lug'', (Schuessler): *''hun-juk'') is the name of an ancient nomadic tribe which invaded China during legendary times. They are traditionally identifi ...

nomads. During the

Western Zhou The Western Zhou ( zh, c=西周, p=Xīzhōu; 771 BC) was a period of Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended in 77 ...

period of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

, the area around Otog Banner was home to nomadic tribes such as

Xianyun The Xianyun (; Old Chinese: ( ZS) *''g.ramʔ-lunʔ''; (Schuessler) *''hɨamᴮ-juinᴮ'' < *''hŋamʔ-junʔ'') was an ancient nomadic tribe that invaded the

Beidi The Di or Beidi (Northern Di) were various ethnic groups who lived north of the Chinese ('' Huaxia'') realms during the Zhou dynasty. Although initially described as nomadic, they seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural, and huntin ...

. During the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

, the and other nomadic tribes lived on the southwestern edge of present-day Otog Banner. During the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

, the and the lived in the area. Following the Zhou dynasty, the area was inhabited by the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

. In 215 BCE, the area was incorporated into the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

as part of

Beidi Commandery Beidi Commandery ( zh, c=北地郡, l=Northern Land) was a commandery of the Qin and Han dynasties of China, located in what is now Ningxia. Its seat was Maling (馬領) during the Western Han period and Fuping (富平, near modern Wuzhong, Ning ...

. The area was reorganized in 127 BCE as part of Shuofang Commandery, with present-day Otog Banner occupying its subdivisions of and . In 50 CE, the southern Xiongnu and other tribes occupied the area, and present-day Otog Banner fell under the jurisdiction of Xiongnu . During the

Jin Dynasty Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...

and the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the area belonged to both the

Former Zhao The Han-Zhao ( zh, s=汉赵, t=漢趙, p=Hàn Zhào; 304–329 AD), or Former Zhao ( zh, s=前赵, t=前趙, p=Qián Zhào), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Liu ( Luandi) clan of Chuge-Xiongnu ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms per ...

and

Later Zhao Zhao, briefly known officially as Wei (衛) in 350 AD, known in historiography as the Later Zhao (; 319–351) or Shi Zhao (石趙), was a dynasty of China ruled by the Shi family of Jie ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Among the ...

. During this time, the area was administered as . In 407 CE,

Helian Bobo Helian Bobo ( zh, t=赫連勃勃; Middle Chinese Guangyun: ; 381 – September 425), né Liu Bobo (劉勃勃), courtesy name Qujie (屈孑), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Wulie of Xia (夏武烈帝), was the founding emperor of ...

established the Great Xia, which administered present-day Otog Banner. In 427 CE, the

Northern Wei dynasty Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an imperial dynasty of Chi ...

occupied the entirety of present-day Ordos, and administered the area of present-day Otog Banner as . From 605 CE to 607 CE, the area was administered under and . By the beginning of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, the area was split between six Turkic

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

: , Li Prefecture (), She Prefecture (), Sai Prefecture (), , and . It was later reorganized as and . In the 738 CE, the Tang dynasty took control, and organized the area under the You Prefecture, with present-day Otog Banner belonging to its subdivisions of Yan'en County (), Guiren County (), and Huaide County (). During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period which followed the Tang dynasty, the area belonged to

Dingnan Jiedushi Dingnan Jiedushi (), also known as Xiasui Jiedushi (), was a ''jiedushi'' created in 787 by the Tang dynasty that lasted until the early Northern Song dynasty, when its ruler Li Yuanhao proclaimed himself emperor and established the Western Xia ...

and . In 1038, the area of present-day Otog Banner became part of the

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia ( zh, c=, w=Hsi1 Hsia4, p=Xī Xià), officially the Great Xia ( zh, c=大夏, w=Ta4 Hsia4, p=Dà Xià, labels=no), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts ...

. In 1226,

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

personally conquered the Western Xia, and rested his troops in the western portion of present-day Otog Banner. The following year, when the Western Xia was destroyed, the area became part of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

. In the

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

, all but the western portion of the area belonged to , while the rest became the fiefdom of Chaghan Nur (). In 1376, present-day Otog Banner was put under control of and , as part of the of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. In 1462, Mongols resettled in Ordos, and in 1500,

Dayan Khan Dayan Khan (; ), born Batumöngke ( , ; ''Bātúméngkè''; 1472–1517) was a khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty, reigning from 1480 to 1517. During his rule, he reunited the Mongols under Chinggisid supremacy. His reigning title, "Dayan" ...

restored the Wanhu organization, bringing the area under the control of Bars Bolud Jinong. The area would continue to be ruled by his descendants, including . The Ming dynasty retook control of the area in 1635, following Mongol surrender. The

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

assumed control of the area in 1649, and re-organized the area of present-day Ordos under six different

banners A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

. The area near present-day Otog Banner was governed by the descendants of Baisanggu'er as part of the . The Ordos Right Wing Middle Banner survived into the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, although it underwent various administrative changes: in 1930, Woye County () was established within the banner, and the banner's

yamen A ''yamen'' (''ya-men''; ; Manchu: ''yamun'') was the administrative office or residence of a local bureaucrat or mandarin in imperial China, Korea, and Vietnam. In some places, such as Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong, it was named as ''al ...

was abolished in 1936. The took over the area in 1941, amid the Japanese invasion of China, but by 1942, the area was torn between three different governing systems. On August 23, 1949, the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

took control of present-day Otog Banner, and by September 7, a provisional Communist Party government was established. Otog Banner was established in February 1950. In 1980, Otog Front Banner was split from Otog Banner, and in 1997, part of Otog Banner was transferred to

Wuhai Wuhai (; ''Üqai qota'', Mongolian Cyrillic: Үхай хот) is a prefecture-level city and regional center in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, and is by area the smallest prefecture-level division of the region. It is located on ...

Administrative divisions

Otog Banner is made up of 4

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and 2

sums In mathematics, summation is the addition of a sequence of numbers, called ''addends'' or ''summands''; the result is their ''sum'' or ''total''. Beside numbers, other types of values can be summed as well: functions, vectors, matrices, polynom ...

Geography and climate

Otog Banner is located in the southwest of Inner Mongolia and the west of Ordos City's administration, with a latitude range of 38° 18' to 40° 11' N and a longitude range of 106° 41' to 108° 54', spanning north to south and west to east. Its total area is . Otog Banner has a

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

-influenced, continental

cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BWk''), with long, cold and very dry winters, and hot, slightly wetter summers. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July, and the annual mean is . Only during the summer months does significant rainfall occur, and there is an average of of precipitation annually. There are 3,000 hours of sunshine and 122 frost-free days per year.

Economy

As of 2019, Otog Banner had a

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

(GDP) of 36.036 billion

renminbi The renminbi ( ; currency symbol, symbol: Yen and yuan sign, ¥; ISO 4217, ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the China, People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the Peop ...

(RMB), a 8.4% increase from the previous year. Otog Banner's economy is largely industrial: the banner's

primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in d ...

accounts for 2.60% of its GDP, the secondary sector accounts for 73.10% of its GDP, and the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

accounts for 24.30%. The

per capita ''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". Social statistics The term is used in a wide variety of social science, social sciences and statistical research conte ...

disposable income Disposable income is total personal income minus current taxes on income. In national accounting, personal income minus personal current taxes equals disposable personal income or household disposable income. Subtracting personal outlays ( ...

for residents of Otog Banner is 37,973 RMB as of 2019, a 7.4% increase from the previous year. Urban residents of Otog Banner average a disposable income of 48,994 RMB, which ranks 4th among the 101

county-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since 1412, due to mainland China's large population and geographical area. In the People's Republic of China, the constitution provides for three levels of government. Ho ...

s of

which reported this data in 2019.

Rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

residents average 20,244 RMB of disposable income, which ranks 24th among the 90 county-level divisions of Inner Mongolia which reported this data in 2019.

Education

As of 2019, Otog Banner has eight primary schools and six regular secondary schools.

Culture

As of 2019, Otog Banner has two

theaters Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

, and one

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

References

External links

Official site

{{authority control Banners of Inner Mongolia Ordos City