Xilin Gol literally translates to "river at plateau" in Mongolian. Located in the central part of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Xilin Gol League is the grassland region in China with the most complete range of grassland types and vegetation species. Covering a total area of 203,000 square kilometers, Xilin Gol League, with a permanent population of 1.04 million, 30% of which is Mongolian, governs 12 prefectures and one management area. Bordering Mongolia for 1,103 kilometers, it has two national first-class ports, Erenhot and Zhuengadabuqi.    

Xilin Gol League was the birthplace of Mongolian culture in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). In the middle of the 13th century, Kublai Khan, the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, founded Xanadu or Shangdu (the upper capital) on the Jinlianchuan prairie of Xilin Gol, where the Mongolian cultural relics are completely preserved, including the site of Xanadu, the Beizi Temple and Hui Zong Monastery, which bears an inscription written by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The site of Xanadu is listed as a world cultural heritage. 

With rich ethnic customs, Xilin Gol League is known as the home of both Bokh, or Mongolian wrestling, and “long tune”. In 1957, the Wulan Muqi Art Troupe was born here, which was praised as the Artistic Light Cavalry of the Grasslands by Zhou Enlai.    

There are abundant natural and mineral resources in Xilin Gol League. Covering a fourth of Inner Mongolia, Xilin Gol has a usable grassland area of 180,000 square kilometers and produces about eight million heads of livestock annually. Among them, Ujimqin sheep and Sunite sheep are named after the country and seen as local fine livestock species. Xilin Gol League is also rich in mineral resources. More than 80 types of mineral reserves have been discovered and the volumes of 30 reserves have been verified. The coal resources are especially rich, with a proved reserve volume of 144.8 billion tons. The reserve volume of brown coal in Xilin Gol ranks at the top in China. Moreover, the proved reserve volume of petroleum is 320 million tons and that of germanium is 3,200 tons, the latter accounting for 70% of the total minable germanium in China and 35% of the world’s reserves. Deposits of iron, lead, zinc and copper are also very considerable. Finally, the city's exploitable wind power stands at 50 million Kilowatts.

In 2023, the GDP of Xiliin Gol League reached 118.48 billion yuan, an increase of 6.0 percent over the previous year. The value added of the league's primary industry was 17.43 billion yuan, an increase of 6.6 percent; the value added of its secondary industry came in at 59.23 billion yuan, an increase of 4.8 percent; and the value added of its tertiary industry hit 41.82 billion yuan, an increase of 6.9 percent.

The ratio of Xiliin Gol's primary, secondary and tertiary industries was 14.7:50.0:35.3; and the contributions of the league's primary, secondary and tertiary industries to the GDP growth were 17.9 percent, 34.8 percent, and 47.3 percent, respectively.

The league's per capita GDP reached 105,784 yuan, an increase of 6.0 percent over the previous year.