Locations: situated between north latitude 4030 - 4200 and east longtitude 10900 - 11030; located in the west of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; bounded by the Peoples Republic of Mongolia to the north, the Yellow River to the south; connecting to the Tumochuan Plain in the east, the Hetao Plain in the west; Mt. Daqingshan in the north,

Neighboring Areas: Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

Physical Features: divided into three parts: the northern plateau, the central hilly land and the southern plain; the Yinshan Mountain in the central area

Population: 1.96 million
Urban Population: 1.29 million
Area: 27, 691 square kilometers

Nationalities: Mongolian, Han, Hui, Manchu, Korean, Dawoer, Zhuang, Elunchu, Ewenke and Tibetan
History: a history of more than 6000 years; a famous thoroughfare in history; a city with rich cultural heritage; a dock for land and water transport service and a place of business importance in the Qing dynasty, mainly on collecting and distributing furs; in 1933, set up as a city

Climatic Features: temperate monsoon climate with cool and favorable summers; long and cold winters; average sunshine of 2700 to 3400 hours annually and frost-free period of 60-160 days

Average Temperature: annual average of 6.4C; the lowest in January of - 10C to - 30C; the highest in July of 16C to 45C; the daily temperature difference of 10C to 16C; great difference between south and north
Rainfall: less of rain, uneven; average annual of 50-450 mm

Mountains: the Daxinganling Ranges, Mt. Helanshan, Mt. Wulashan, Mt. Daqingshan

Rivers: Yellow River, Ergunahe River, Nenjiang River, West Liaohe River, Hulunhu Lake and Beierhu Lake