What would Ningxia be like without Helan Mountain? What impact does Helan Mountain have on the environment?

Helan Mountain is the natural dividing line between Alashan area in Inner Mongolia and Ningxia Plain. Tall peaks suddenly rise between the two areas, separating the connection between the two places like a towering barrier. Helan Mountain is a famous military mountain in history. For thousands of years, battles of all sizes have been fought in Helan Mountain, and Helan Mountain has also become a natural barrier to protect Ningxia Plain.

1. What would Ningxia be like without Helan Mountain?

From the altitude point of view, the highest peak of Helan Mountain is nearly 3500 meters, and the average altitude is equivalent to that of Qinling Mountain. Such a tall mountain system, on the one hand, blocked the traffic between Alashan and Ningxia in Inner Mongolia, on the other hand, it was also the blessing of Helan Mountain, and Ningxia was born. Trapped in Jiangnan? The reputation of.

Today's overlooking view of Helan Mountain

Topographically, Alashan, not far from Ningxia, is surrounded by Badain Jaran Desert, Wulanbuhe Desert and Tengger Desert, and Ningxia has become an important agricultural production area in the northwest under the protection of the Yellow River. Helan Mountain is like a barrier, preventing Alashan desert from entering Ningxia eastward and preventing the desert from invading the Yellow River basin.

Imagine that without the protection of Helan Mountain, the desert in Alashan will be connected with the Mu Us Desert in Ordos Plateau, and the Yellow River may be diverted on a large scale or completely submerged in the sand sea like the fate of Lop Nur.

mu us desert

If the surrounding areas of the Yellow River are completely desertified, it will be a devastating blow to the ecology and development of the lower reaches of the Yellow River, and it is even more impossible to see Ningxia in the south of the Yangtze River beyond the Great Wall. If the Yellow River has made the Ningxia Plain today, then Helan Mountain has made the ecological environment of the Yellow River today.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Helan Mountain in Ningxia and Guyuan has always been the main activity place of nomadic people. At that time, it was ruled by Yi Qurong. When it comes to Yi Qurong, everyone may be very strange. When it comes to the TV series The Legend of Mi Yue, everyone is familiar with it. The historical background of The Legend of Mi Yue is related to Yi Jian Zhen.

A song in The Legend of Mi Yue, Rongjun Zhaili.

Yi Qurong ruled around Helan Mountain for hundreds of years, then was destroyed by Qin, and set up a county in Helan Mountain. After the arrival of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he immigrated here on a large scale, but Helan Mountain was still an important nomadic area and horse breeding place in the Central Plains Dynasty.

This state lasted until the Qing Dynasty. With a large number of immigrants coming to Ningxia, the vicinity of Helan Mountain in Ningxia has gradually become an important farming area (there was already farming here during the Qin and Han Dynasties). Because the farming area was too large, the rulers finally gave up herding horses for thousands of years, and the pastoral scenery irrigated by the Yellow River also replaced the previous herding horse areas.

Muma district

Second, the military defense system of Helan Mountain

Is Helan Mountain famous in history? Protect the throat of the north, desert? It is also a battleground for military strategists in past dynasties. According to statistics, there are nearly 38 passes in and out of Helan Mountain. These mountain passes have their own names, such as Baisikou, Dawukou, Zhenbeikou and Lingwukou.

In the history of Helan Mountain, these mountain passes have become the main channels for communication between Ningxia Plain and nomadic people in the north, and the territories of nomadic people such as Turks and Mongols can be reached through Helan Mountain. Therefore, the dynasties east of Helan Mountain attached great importance to the establishment of the defense system of Helan Mountain.

Military fortifications near Helan Mountain today

In the third year of Emperor Kai of Sui Dynasty (583), the Turkish army went south to attack Sui. Later, it was the defense of Helan Mountain that frustrated Turkish soldiers. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty and Uighur cooperated with each other to defeat the Turks in the north of Helan Mountain. Since then, the strength of the Tang Dynasty has been awesome. Later, Gulikan, Uighur and other tribes respected Emperor Taizong one after another. Khan? But what really made Helan Mountain famous was Mongolia's war against Xixia.

1038, Xixia dynasty was established under the leadership of Li Yuanhao, with its capital in Xingqing (Yinchuan). Helan Mountain became the natural defense barrier of Xixia capital.

Restoration of Xixia nobles' decoration (photo by the author)

Later, Genghis Khan led the Mongolian army to launch several large-scale attacks on Xixia, but they were all blocked by Helan Mountain and failed to really destroy Xixia. Later, Genghis Khan's Mongolian army skillfully surrounded Xingqing City through careful deployment, making the barrier of Helan Mountain useless.

By 1227, Xixia kingdom was destroyed by Mongolia, and the Mongolian army massacred it. At this point, the Tangut disappeared on the historical stage. 1288, the Yuan government changed Zhongxing House to Ningxia General Government, and the name of Ningxia was determined accordingly. Ningxia means a peaceful Xixia, and the Yuan government hopes that Xixia's homeland will be safe forever.

Yinchuan city today (photo by the author)

In the Ming Dynasty, Helan Mountain became a place where the Ming and Mongolian armies fought fiercely. During the Yongle period, in order to use Helan Mountain and the Yellow River to stop Mongolian fighters from going south, nine Great Walls were built around Helan Mountain.

At the same time, the Ming government set up many military defense passes near Helan Mountain, such as Dawukou (now Dawukou District of Shizuishan), which is the key area for Alashan to enter Ningxia Plain. "New Records of Ningxia in Ming Dynasty" records:? (Helan Mountain) Walking along the mountain, although you can ride Lu, there are still risks to lean on. In the north, you can only play martial arts, which is the third level. ? This shows that it was once an important base defense in the Ming Dynasty.