Ejin or Ejina ( Mongolian: Эжэн-э қосиу ''Ejen-e qosiɣu''; ) is a

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

in the far west of

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

, China. It is under the administration of Alxa League and is the westernmost

county-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there a ...

of Inner Mongolia, bordering

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

province to the west and the Republic of Mongolia's

Bayankhongor Bayankhongor ( mn, Баянхонгор, lit=''righ soft'', or ''rich sweetheart'') is the capital of the Bayankhongor Province (aimag) in Mongolia. The administration of the Bayankhongor Sum (district) is also located in the same place. The city ...

and Govi-Altai Provinces. Its seat is located at Dalaihob Town (). To the west, it shares a border with

Subei Mongol Autonomous County The Subei Mongol Autonomous County (; Mongolian: ) is an autonomous county within the prefecture-level city of Jiuquan in the northwest of Gansu Province, China, bordering Xinjiang to the west, Qinghai Province to the southeast and Mongolia's Gov ...

Jiuquan Jiuquan, formerly known as Suzhou, is a prefecture-level city in the northwesternmost part of Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It is more than wide from east to west, occupying , although its built-up area is mostly located in ...

History

The area has historically been the hunting grounds of the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

before it was acquired by

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

in BC 121. The ancient city of

Khara-Khoto Khara-Khoto (; mn, Khar Khot; "black city") is an abandoned city in the Ejin Banner of Alxa League in western Inner Mongolia, China, near the Juyan Lake Basin. Built in 1032, the city thrived under the rule of the Western Xia dynasty. It has b ...

, founded by the

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...

, is located here. The area was incorporated into the Mongol empire under

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

in 1226. During the

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

, the area was home to nomadic Mongol populations. It was later incorporated into the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

(1644–1912). Under the Republic of China, the area was under the jurisdiction of

Ningxia Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in ...

province. The area fell under the control of the Communist Party in September 1949. Subsequently, it was placed successively under government commissions in

Zhangye Zhangye (), formerly romanized as Changyeh or known as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Inner Mongolia on the north and Qinghai on the south. Its central district is Ga ...

, and Ningxia province. On June 1, 1956, Ejin became part of the Bayannur League of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center was constructed at around the same time. On May 1, 1980, it became part of the Alxa League. Since

Chinese economic reforms The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of Ch ...

in the 1980s, Ejin rapidly developed its economy. By the early 21st century it became one of the fastest-growing counties in the country measured by GDP.

Geography

Ejin Banner is the westernmost banner of

. It is located in the

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world. Geography The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast an ...

and borders on

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

in the north,

Province in the southwest, and

Alxa Right Banner Alxa Right Banner ( Mongolian: ''Alaša Baraɣun qosiɣu''; ) is a banner in the southwest of Inner Mongolia, China, bordering Gansu province to the south and southwest. It is under the administration of Alxa League Alxa League or Ālāsh� ...

in the southeast. Ejin Banner is geographically vast - approximately the size of South Korea, it covers an area larger than the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Ejin Banner takes its name from the

Ejin River Ejin River (), also Etsin Gol, Ruo Shui () or Ruo He in ancient times, is a major river system of northern China. It flows approximately from its headwaters on the northern Gansu side of the Qilian Mountains north-northeast into the endorheic E ...

, also known as Ruo Shui, which flows from the

Qilian Mountains The Qilian Mountains (, also romanized as Tsilien; Mongghul: Chileb), together with the Altyn-Tagh (Altun Shan) also known as Nan Shan (, literally "Southern Mountains"), as it is to the south of Hexi Corridor, is a northern outlier of the Kunlu ...

of Gansu, and whose two

distributaries A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...

terminate in

Juyan Lake Basin The Juyan Lake (; mn, Gashuun Nuur (shown on Chinese maps as 嘎顺淖尔 ''Gāshùn nào'ěr'' or 嘎顺诺尔, ''Gāshùn nuò'ěr'') for western lake, Sogo Nuur for eastern lake) is a former lake in the Gobi desert. It is located in the west ...

within Ejin banner. Most of the banner's population resides in this river's valley.

Climate

Transportation

Ejin Banner is served by the Ejin Banner Taolai Airport. Train transportation is provided by Jiayuguan–Ceke and the Linhe–Ceke railways, which are primarily used to haul coal that has been trucked from Nariin Sukhait mining complex in Mongolia to Ceke and is loaded on trains at the coal terminals there. Passenger service exists on this railway; as of 2015 there is daily passenger service between Ejin and the regional capital Hohhot, which takes approximately 16 hours.Ejin station schedule
There is also a railway south to both sites (northern and southern) of

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC; also known as Shuangchengzi Missile Test Center; Launch Complex B2; formally Northwest Comprehensive Missile Testing Facility (); Base 20; 63600 Unit) is a Chinese space vehicle launch facility ( sp ...

, which are also located within Ejin Banner.

References

External links