Hetao

'river loop') is a C-shaped region in northwestern China consisting of a collection of flood plains stretching from the banks of the northern half of the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular bend of the Yellow River, that forms the river's entire middle section.

The Hetao region is divided into two main sections — the "West Loop" (Chinese: 西套; pinyin: Xītào) in Ningxia, and the "East Loop" (Chinese: 东套; pinyin: Dōngtào) in Inner Mongolia.

The west section includes the alluvial Yinchuan Plain (Chinese: 银川平原, a.k.a.

Unlike the arid desert/steppe environment nearby, the Hetao plains are fertile grasslands quite suitable for pastoral and agricultural activities, and was frequently used by various Eurasian nomads as a staging area for raiding east into the Central Plain and south into the Loess Plateau and Guanzhong Region.

Throughout Chinese history, this region was of major strategic importance against northern invaders, particularly during the Han and Tang dynasties.