Shapotou District (,

Xiao'erjing Xiao'erjing, Xiaorjing, Xiaojing or Benjing, is a Arabic script, Perso-Arabic script used to write Sinitic languages, including Lanyin Mandarin, Zhongyuan Mandarin, Northeastern Mandarin, and Dungan language, Dungan. It is used on occasion ...

: ) is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Zhongwei Zhongwei (, Xiao'erjing: جْووِ شِ) is a prefecture-level city of Ningxia, People's Republic of China. It has an area of and a population of 1,174,600 in 2019. The city is known for its wolfberry and Gobi watermelon cultivation. One of the ...

Ningxia Ningxia, officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region in Northwestern China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1954 but was later separated from Gansu in 1958 and reconstituted as an autonomous ...

, China, noted for the Tengger Desert, and bordering

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. ...

to the north and

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

province to the west. It is the site of the Shapotou Desert Experimental Research Station. The research station is located at the southern end of the dune sea on the banks of the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

. Research at station includes dune stabilization using grasses and microbial mats. Regions stabilized in the 1950s are now used for fruit and vine crops.

Sand dune stabilization Sand dune stabilization is a coastal management practice designed to prevent erosion of sand dunes. Sand dunes are common features of shoreline and desert environments. Dunes provide habitat for highly specialized plants and animals, including rar ...

in the region is required to curtail burial of the trans-Asia Baotou–Lanzhou Railway.

Administrative divisions

At present, Shapotou District, has 10 towns and 1 township. ;10 towns * Binhe (, ) * Wenchang (, ) * Dongyuan (, ) * Rouyuan (, ) * Zhenluo (, ) * Xuanhe (, ) * Yongkang (, ) * Changle (, ) * Yingshuiqiao (, ) * Xingren (, ) ;1 township * Xiangshan (, )

Climate

References

External links

Tengger desert & Tonghu grassland
Deserts of China County-level divisions of Ningxia Dunes of China Zhongwei {{Ningxia-geo-stub