Hetao
Sign in to save250px|right|thumb|The Hetao region's three sections:"West Loop" (brown), "Back Loop" (light brown), and "Front Loop" (yellow) Hetao () is a C-shaped region in northwestern China consisting of a collection of flood plains stretching from the banks of the northern half of the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular bend of the Yellow River, that forms the river's entire middle section. The region makes up the northern margin of the Ordos Basin, bounded in the west by the Helan Mountains, the north by the Yin Mountains, the east by the northern portion of Lüliang Mountains, and the south by the
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250px|right|thumb|The Hetao region's three sections:"West Loop" (brown), "Back Loop" (light brown), and "Front Loop" (yellow) Hetao () is a C-shaped region in northwestern China consisting of a collection of flood plains stretching from the banks of the northern half of the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular bend of the Yellow River, that forms the river's entire middle section. The region makes up the northern margin of the Ordos Basin, bounded in the west by the Helan Mountains, the north by the Yin Mountains, the east by the northern portion of Lüliang Mountains, and the south by the Ordos Desert and the Loess Plateau (separated by the course of the Ming Great Wall).
The Hetao region is divided into two main sections — the "West Loop" () in Ningxia, and the "East Loop" () in Inner Mongolia. The west section includes the alluvial Yinchuan Plain (, a.k.a. Ningxia Plain) around Shizuishan, Yinchuan, and Wuzhong, and the Weining Plain () around Zhongwei. The east section is further divided into two parts — the western "Back Loop" (), which includes the Bayannur Plain () around Bayannur and Wuhai; and the eastern "Front Loop" ), which includes the Tumochuan Plain () around Baotou and Hohhot.