Bayannuur (in Mongolian it means abundant lakes as the region is famous for its numerous lakes and the freshwater lake Ulansuhai Nur). It is located in the western part of Inner Mongolia, lying between Hetao Plain and Urad grassland. The city covers an area of 64,000 square kilometers and its permanent population is 1.67 million, with 7 banners under its administration.

Bayannuur is advantageous with agriculture and animal husbandry conditions. The Yellow River flows through the city, and Hetao irrigation area is Asia’s largest gravity irrigation area, which can irrigate 10 million mu (0.67 million hectares). All of these factors have made the area an important agricultural and livestock production and processing base in not just the autonomous region but the entire country. The city is known as the "Frontier Jiangnan (the region south of the Yangtze River)” and is also famous for its fruit vegetation.

Bayannuur is rich in natural, historical and cultural resources. More than 300 places in the area have been found processing abundant mineral resources with more than 63 varieties, among which the reserves of sulfur, zinc, lead, zeolite, bentonite, silver, cadmium, lithium, gallium, flux, silica, dolomite, and mica are the largest in the district, while ranking second in the reserves of copper, nickel, cobalt, iron, manganese, chromium and phosphorus. Bayan Manduhu in Urad Rear Banner is known as the "dinosaur kingdom", and nearly 153 cliff painting groups and more than 50,000 cliff paintings have been found in the valleys.

Bayannuur's regional GDP in 2024 reached 124.23 billion yuan, marking a 5.7 percent year-on-year growth. By sector, the primary industry added 32.86 billion yuan, up 5.9 percent; the secondary industry 36.24 billion yuan, up 6.4 percent; and the tertiary industry 55.13 billion yuan, up 5.1 percent. Their respective contributions to GDP growth were 26.3 percent, 31.4 percent, and 42.3 percent. The adjusted industrial structure stood at 26.4:29.2:44.4.