Hello This is Bayan Nur

Located in western Inner Mongolia, there's a city known as "The Land of Prosperity in the Border". The city boasts favorable natural conditions for developing agriculture and husbandry. The region's abundant produce includes a wide variety of melons and fruits, which can quench people's thirst throughout the year. It is the hometown portrayed in Swan Geese (Hong Yan), a popular song in China.

The city is Bayan Nur. How much do you know about this city? The name Bayan Nur refers to "The Lake of Abundance" in Mongolian. Bayan Nur is rich in tourism resources, history and culture. And there's more about this city rarely known by many.

Ulansu Lake [Photo by Yang Yadong]

Bayan Nur is home to Ulansu Lake, one of the eight major freshwater lakes in China. As an important migratory pathway for migratory birds, Ulansu Lake attracts over 200 different bird species to its shores each summer. Bayan Nur is split by Yinshan Mountains from the center, surrounded by the expansive Hetao Plain in the south and Urad Grassland in the north.

Urad Grassland [Photo by the Publicity Department of the Municipal Committee of Bayan Nur]

Throughout the history, Bayan Nur has been a destination for migrants from Shanxi Province and Shaanxi Province, who brought with them their distinct cultural traditions. Thus, Bayan Nur has developed a unique culture incorporating the customs of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia.

A rock painting of Yinshan Mountains [Photo by the Publicity Department of the Municipal Committee of Bayan Nur]

Bayan Nur is also renowned for its wealth of dinosaur fossils. The dinosaur fossil belt located in the Bayin Manduhu of Urad Rear Banner houses the largest collection of Late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils in China. The most widely distributed rock paintings of Yinshan Mountains in China can be found here. With more than 50,000 rock paintings within the region, Bayan Nur is one of the world's largest treasure repositories of this ancient art form. Here also lies the well-preserved ancient Great Wall that stretches thousands of kilometers. The city is thus accredited as the "Great Wall Museum" by scholars.

An aerial photo of Hetao Plain [Photo by the Publicity Department of the Municipal Committee of Bayan Nur]

In addition to its rich cultural and historical heritage, Bayan Nur also owns the largest single-gate gravity irrigation area in Asia. In 2019, the irrigation area in Hetao Plain has been recognized as one of the World Heritage Irrigation Structure (WHIS) Sites. Endowed by nature, the city abounds in wind power and solar energy. It is not only the richest region in China in terms of wind power, but also ranks second in terms of solar energy.

Moreover, Bayan Nur's prized agricultural product "Hetao Tomato" is protected under the National Agro-product Geographical Indications. For example, Wuyuan County, known as the town of sunflowers, contributes to one-seventh of melon seed production in China. Thanks to the flourishing grassland and sufficient water supply, the city is the country's largest production base of dehaired wool and accounts for more than half of the country's organic milk production. As the "Capital of Sheep in China", Bayan Nur has the most complete supply chain of mutton, with a significant quantity of sheep, mutton yield and the annual market volume of mutton ranking first in the country.

This is Bayan Nur.