Alashansemi-desert plateau in wider context ofSouth,Southeast andEast Asia.Ethnolinguistic map 1967, centered on Helan mountains - which listed as falling within region whereOirat spoken (but see alsoAlasha dialect).
TheHelan Mountains, frequently calledAlashan Mountains in older sources, are an isolated desert mountain range forming the border ofInner Mongolia'sAlxa League andNingxia. They run north-south parallel to the north-flowingYellow River in theOrdos Loop section. The river is mostly east of the mountains, but in the north it crosses without making a significant gorge and flows on the west side. To the west lies the extremely aridTengger Desert, while to the east is an irrigated area beside the Yellow River, in which lie the cities ofYinchuan andShizuishan - a little further east of which lies theMu Us portion of theOrdos Desert. To the north lies the Inner Mongolian city ofWuhai.
They are about 200 kilometres (120 mi) from north to south, from 15 to 50 kilometres (9.3 to 31.1 mi) wide and average about 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in altitude (the Yellow River here is about 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) above sea level). Their highest peak is 3,556 metres (11,667 ft).
With the increasing popularity ofNingxia wines, the Chinese authorities have given approval to the development of the eastern base of the Helan Mountains as an area suitable for wine production. Several large Chinese wine companies including Changyu and Dynasty Wine have begun development in the western region of the province. Together they now own 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of land for planting vineyards and Dynasty has ploughed 100 million yuan into Ningxia. In addition, the major oil companyChina Petroleum and Chemical Corporation has founded a vineyard near the Helan Mountains. The household appliance companyMidea has also begun participating in Ningxia's wine industry.[1]
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