Alxa Left Banner

The old walled town of Dingyuanying and the South and North temples on the western slopes of the Helan Mountains, plus Moon Lake and Swan Lake in the Tengger Desert and the Alxa Heroes Gathering off-road festival.

Alxa Left Banner lies in the southeastern corner of Alxa League in far western Inner Mongolia. Its seat, Bayanhot (Mongolian for rich city), sits on the western slopes of the Helan Mountains, with only the range separating it from Yinchuan in Ningxia; crossing the mountains via G307 or the Yinchuan–Bayanhot Expressway takes about 1 hour, so most visitors rent a car or hire one with a driver from Yinchuan Hedong Airport. The Helan Mountains lie to the east, the Tengger Desert to the southwest and the Ulan Buh Desert to the north. The climate is typically temperate, continental and arid: summer days are scorching with big day-night temperature swings, and winters are cold and windy. Sep–Oct, with clear skies and comfortable desert temperatures, is also when the Alxa Heroes Gathering takes place, making it the best time to visit.

The main areas break down into three parts: ① Bayanhot town — the old walled town of Dingyuanying, seat of the Qing-dynasty prince of the Alxa Khoshut Banner, along with Yanfu Temple and the Alxa Museum, all doable in half a day, with plenty of ornamental-stone shops and Mongolian restaurants in town; ② the western slopes of the Helan Mountains — the South Temple (Guangzong Temple) with the Xuelingzi old-growth forest behind it, and the North Temple (Fuyin Temple), good for escaping the heat in summer and autumn and seeing Tibetan Buddhist monasteries; ③ the Tengger Desert — Moon Lake, Swan Lake and the Dream Desert Auto Park, main venue of the Alxa Heroes Gathering, offering off-road dune bashing, camel rides and desert camping under the stars.

Allow 2–3 days: one day for the town and the South Temple, and one for the Tengger Desert (ideally with a night at Moon Lake for the sunset and stars). Sights are 40–100 km apart and public transport is minimal, so self-driving or hiring a car is best; always go into the deep desert with the scenic area's own vehicles or a licensed off-road convoy, and never attempt to cross it on your own. Protect yourself from the sun and stay hydrated; in autumn and winter, mornings and evenings can drop below 0°C. During the Heroes Gathering (usually late September to early October) accommodation is scarce and prices rise, so book ahead. Although the Tonghu Grassland is administratively part of Alxa Left Banner, it is easier to reach from Shapotou in Zhongwei, Ningxia, and is covered under the Zhongwei destination.

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