PLACE GUIDE

Ejin Banner 额济纳旗

Ejina Qi

Ejin's settlements and poplar groves depend on the rivers descending from the Qilian Mountains into the desert.

Reeds and water at Juyan Lake wetland park in Ejin Banner.
Reeds and water at Juyan Lake wetland park in Ejin Banner. Photograph date recorded by the source: Taken on 4 October 2015. · Nyx Ning · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo adjustments

Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.

Explore the region

Inner Mongolia · 内蒙古自治区 →Alxa League · 阿拉善盟 →

About Ejin Banner

Dalai Hob provides the practical base for this wide territory. Start with Ejin Museum's account of Juyan and the Tangut town of Khara-Khoto, then visit the nearby Desert Poplar scenic area to see how water supports the oasis vegetation. The northern Juyan Lake and southeastern Black City are separate road excursions, so a first day around town can be deliberately compact.

The name Ejin comes from the Tangut-language word for 'black water' (also transliterated Yijinai), and Khara-Khoto, the Tangut town within the banner, is said to be the only city in the world still named in the Tangut language. The Western Xia built Khara-Khoto (黑水城) in 1036 as part of a programme of settling and garrisoning the area against Tibetan and Uyghur incursions. In 1226 the city was captured by the Mongol army of Genghis Khan.

After the Yuan dynasty was established, Kublai Khan set up the Yijinai Circuit (亦集乃路) here in 1286, under Gansu province, administering the area together with Xining and Shandan prefectures. In 1372 Ming forces took the city; it was then burned, the Ruo River changed course, and its inhabitants were relocated to the Hexi Corridor, after which the area lay beyond the Ming frontier.

In the twentieth century Ejin became part of the Bayannur League in 1956, around the time the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center was built in the banner, and it was transferred to the Alxa League in 1980. It is the westernmost banner of Inner Mongolia, bordering Mongolia, Gansu province and Alxa Right Banner, and is geographically vast, roughly the size of South Korea and larger than either Jiangsu or Zhejiang province. Most of its population lives along the Ejin River valley.

What to look for

  • Ejin Museum's Juyan history and Black Water/Tangut displays.
  • The poplar and red-willow landscape in the Desert Poplar scenic area just south of town.

Location & getting there

Getting to Ejin Banner

Use Dalai Hob as the base, beginning at Ejin Museum on Juyan Street.

  • The Desert Poplar scenic area is about two kilometres south of town; arrange a local transfer to its visitor centre after the museum.
General visit reminders

Allow room for the terrain and weather when choosing your route. Check the operator’s current trail, shuttle and cableway notices where applicable, and confirm the return connection before setting out. A broad landscape pin does not identify every trailhead or access point.

Combine your visit

Suggested order within this visit:

  1. Ejin Museum

    Read the river, settlement and frontier history first.

  2. Desert Poplar scenic area

    Continue to the living oasis landscape close to town.

This sequence is an editorial suggestion based on the features described in the sources. Access to individual buildings or areas should be checked locally; no travel time or shared admission is implied.

Mountains & forests · 山岳／森林 →

Find Ejin Banner

额济纳旗 · 阿拉善盟

Amap · 高德地图Approximate pin · 近似位置Apple Maps · 苹果地图

The pin marks the area, not the entrance.

More places nearby

Approximate straight-line distances between map pins, not travel distances.

Khara-Khoto 黑城遗址

69 km away

Khara-Khoto, the Black City, was a fortified settlement on routes linking the Hexi Corridor with the Mongolian steppe. Its surviving rectangular walls, projecting defensive platforms and religious remains make the former town…

View guide →

Badain Jaran Desert 巴丹吉林沙漠

245 km away

Badain Jaran's great dunes rise above a network of lakes in the Alxa plateau. The contrast between steep sand slopes, water and narrow vegetated margins is its defining landscape. An introductory visit can focus on Badan Lake…

View guide →

Tengger Desert 腾格里沙漠

503 km away

Tengger is a broad dune desert crossed by lake basins and patches of pasture, extending across the borders of Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Gansu. For an Alxa-side introduction, Moon Lake offers a named reception route into this…

View guide →

Sources & visit information

The sources below support the place-specific description and arrival information. Suggested combinations are editorial planning ideas; confirm current opening, entry arrangements and transport services for your date.

Visitor information adapted and edited from Wikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 1359423106.

Background paragraphs translated and condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "额济纳旗", Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 92841315.

Background paragraphs condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "Ejin Banner", English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 1359423106.

China Revealed · Editorially updated 2026-10-07