The league borders Mongolia to the north, Bayan Nur to the northeast, Wuhai and Ordos to the east, Ningxia to the southeast, and Gansu to the south and west.

The capital is Bayanhot town (Chinese: 巴彦浩特镇), formerly known as Dingyuanying (定远营镇) or Wang Ye Fu,[2] in the aimag's Left Banner.

Much of the productive economic activity takes place under the auspices of several large companies operating in the region, extracting natural resources.

Due to its remote location, much of the economic activity takes place with the support of migrant laborers from other parts of China.

The high per capita GDP is not reflected in the salaries of the average low-skilled worker, which is on par with other mid-sized Chinese cities.