{
"id": 4911,
"type": "post",
"slug": "alxa-left-banner-entering-inner-mongolia",
"path": "/alxa-left-banner-entering-inner-mongolia/",
"title": "Alxa Left Banner – Entering Inner Mongolia",
"excerpt": "Alxa Left Banner sits right on the border between Inner Mongolia and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. We began our journey in Wuzhong and made our way all the way to Alxa Left Banner — with a little detour through the Tengger Desert, which lies just nearby. Along the way, we passed the vineyards at […]",
"featuredMediaId": 5895,
"publishedAt": "2025-07-28T08:42:24",
"modifiedAt": "2025-12-14T15:10:06",
"authorId": 1,
"seoTitle": "Alxa Left Banner - Entering Inner Mongolia - Little Chinese Everywhere",
"seoDescription": "Alxa Left Banner sits right on the border between Inner Mongolia and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. We began our journey in Wuzhong and made our way all the way to Alxa Left Banner — with a little detour through the Tengger Desert, which lies just nearby. Along the way, we passed the vineyards at […]",
"canonicalUrl": "https://littlechineseeverywhere.com/alxa-left-banner-entering-inner-mongolia/",
"robots": {
"index": "index",
"follow": "follow",
"max-snippet": "max-snippet:-1",
"max-image-preview": "max-image-preview:large",
"max-video-preview": "max-video-preview:-1"
},
"openGraph": {
"og_locale": "en_US",
"og_type": "article",
"og_title": "Alxa Left Banner - Entering Inner Mongolia - Little Chinese Everywhere",
"og_description": "Alxa Left Banner sits right on the border between Inner Mongolia and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. We began our journey in Wuzhong and made our way all the way to Alxa Left Banner — with a little detour through the Tengger Desert, which lies just nearby. Along the way, we passed the vineyards at […]",
"og_url": "https://littlechineseeverywhere.com/alxa-left-banner-entering-inner-mongolia/",
"og_site_name": "Little Chinese Everywhere",
"og_image": [
{
"width": 810,
"height": 1080,
"url": "https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/BF5189C7-7675-4722-8F4E-B98ACBA9393A.jpg",
"type": "image/jpeg"
}
]
},
"destination": {
"country": null,
"province": null,
"season": null,
"latitude": null,
"longitude": null,
"color": null
},
"excerptHtml": "
Alxa Left Banner sits right on the border between Inner Mongolia and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. We began our journey in Wuzhong and made our way all the way to Alxa Left Banner — with a little detour through the Tengger Desert, which lies just nearby. Along the way, we passed the vineyards at […]
\n",
"contentHtml": "\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Alxa Left Banner sits right on the border between Inner Mongolia and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. We began our journey in Wuzhong and made our way all the way to Alxa Left Banner — with a little detour through the Tengger Desert, which lies just nearby. Along the way, we passed the vineyards at the foot of the Helan Mountains, explored a relic of the ancient Xi Xia Kingdom, saw the remains of the Great Wall that once separated Inner Mongolia from Ningxia, and finally arrived in Alxa Left Banner after our sandy detour through the desert.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
When you head west out of Yinchuan, you quickly reach the Helan Mountains — the range that separates the fertile plains around Yinchuan from the vast Gobi Desert and its smaller sub-deserts on the other side. In a straight line, Alxa Left Banner is just about 30 kilometers away, right across the Helan Mountains. But since there’s no tunnel or direct route through, you have to go southwest first and cross into Inner Mongolia from there.
Wuzhong is really famous for its “morning tea”, basically the local version of brunch. You’ll find a similar tradition in Guangdong, but in Ningxia, everyone told us that Wuzhong is the place to experience it.
One of the most popular spots is a restaurant called Doyousu (杜优素早茶), which opens in the morning and serves until early afternoon. The food is absolutely delicious, and the prices are pretty reasonable too, around 10–20 USD per person.
Wuzhong has a multitude of hotels. Just be aware that many still might not know that they are now allowed to host foreigners. We wrote an entire article about that here.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
Helan Shan Vineyards
\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Helan Shan is one of China’s most famous vine regions. It’s fairly small but quite nice and authentic. You can simply take a taxi out of Yinchuan to reach there and do a tour at one of the various wine cellars. We went to one in Zhenbeibuzhen (镇北堡镇）there are several ones next to each other, and usually you can just take a tour at any of them. They will show you how wine is made and at the end you will be able to even try some on our own.
The wineries are also guesthouses often, so if you are interested you can also stay there. The best time to visit is around September when the grapes are harvested, you can witness the full process of making wine, from harvesting to the filling of the wine bottles.
When you continue towards Inner Mongolia you will find the Xi xia (Western Xia) Tombs. The Xi Xia Tombs are one of Ningxia’s most fascinating historical sites, often called the “Pyramids of China.” They’re the royal mausoleums of the Western Xia Dynasty, which ruled parts of northwest China about a thousand years ago. Scattered at the foot of the Helan Mountains, the site covers a huge area with nine imperial tombs and over 200 smaller ones belonging to nobles and officials. The “Xia” of “Ningxia” is the heritage of this old kingdom.
Visiting the tombs is pretty straightforward. They’re about 35 kilometers west of Yinchuan, and you can easily reach them by car or taxi, it takes around 40 minutes from the city center. There’s also a visitor center with exhibitions that explain the history and archaeology of the Western Xia Kingdom before you head out to the actual tombs.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tXi Xia Tombs at the foot of Helan Mountains\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
If you continue the journey you will find the last remainings of the Great Wall that once separated the Chinese from the Mongols. It’s right at the provincial border between Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. It is not a scenic zone so you can just stop there and walk up the hills to take some pictures.
As soon as you enter Inner Mongolia, you will quickly be near Alxa Left Banner and the Tengger Desert. In fact, the Tengger Desert is threatening Alxa Left Banner through desertification, however anti-desertification measures have showed results and made the area a little bit greener. If you go a little bit into the desert you will find some desert adventure stops, such as dune bashing, or going to the Alxa Dream Desert Park. There is also a lake within the desert that you can visit. Usually, all those activities are a day tour from Alxa Left Banner, and it’s definitely cheaper to stay in Alxa Left Banner than anywhere in the desert.
Where to stay: You may find various hotels on Trip.com
![\"\"](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-11-10-at-21.30.56-1024x567.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/06450CD2-7B6F-4E7C-B2EC-5C1742E38BFA.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/F5CC9801-CD8F-48A8-9317-C2CB6ADA2741.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DF8C5C4A-B0F6-4837-88C8-55950E661315.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/8B88A830-74C6-4CEB-9CFA-F3424EBED1E6.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/680EF3EA-E083-4E82-B970-3B85F90A159F.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/698A182E-3BF4-4208-A68A-EF4DB991003A.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/1FA9D90B-FF9B-4960-A646-CA425F28846D.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/D5EBE743-E7C2-42FA-AE08-FF5406D3AC83.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/D048FF4D-D1CE-4E0F-BE1A-5ACC8D67E19D.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/990FA4E7-DF85-42A0-A6D2-F27C9D69A5CE.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/3FC79139-D843-4D62-A8A9-4A84BE630AF5.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/9C2FDF2D-6E1A-40E4-88B7-7506BF19FFA5.jpg\"){kind=link}
![\"\"](\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/1C983E8A-8F93-424F-AE94-53E2A7F063D4-1024x768.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t