Bayannur

Bayannur spreads across the fertile Hetao Plain in western Inner Mongolia, where a network of canals fed by the Yellow River has made it one of northern China's most productive irrigated farming regions. Its main urban district, Linhe, anchors a landscape of sunflower fields, wheat and grazing land that supplies much of the country's sunflower seeds. The reed-fringed Ulansuhai Nur is one of the largest lakes on the Yellow River and a vital haven for migratory birds. On the slopes of the Yinshan Mountains, thousands of ancient petroglyphs record millennia of nomadic life. To the north lies the Ganqimaodu port on the Mongolian border, a busy conduit for coal and minerals. Bayannur Tianjitai Airport and rail lines link it to Hohhot and Baotou.