Ordos Basin in the context of "Old Turkic"

Shaanxi is a province in north Northwestern China bordering the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to the west. Shaanxi covers an area of over 205,000 km (79,000 sq mi) with about 37 million people, the 16th-largest in China. Xi'an, which includes the sites of the former capitals Fenghao and Chang'an – is the provincial capital and largest city in Northwest China and also one of the oldest cities in China. It is also the oldest of the Four Ancient Capitals, being the capital for the Western Zhou, Western Han, Jin, Sui and Tang dynasties. Xianyang, which served as the capital of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), is just north across the Wei River. The other prefecture-level cities into which the province is divided are Ankang, Baoji, Hanzhong, Shangluo, Tongchuan, Weinan, Yan'an and Yulin.

The province is geographically divided into three parts, namely Northern (or "Shaanbei"), Central ("Shaanzhong") and Southern Shaanxi (or "Shaannan"). Northern Shaanxi makes up the southeastern portion of the Ordos Basin and mainly comprises the two prefectural cities of Yulin and Yan'an on the northern Loess Plateau, demarcated from the Ordos Desert and the grasslands of Inner Mongolia's Ordos City by the Ming Great Wall. Central Shaanxi is also known as the Guanzhong region, and comprises the drainage basin of lower Wei River east of Mount Liupan and north of the Qinling Mountains, where the majority of Shaanxi's population reside. Southern Shaanxi comprises the three prefectural cities in the edge of the historical Bashu region south of the Qinling Mountains and includes the three mountainous cities of Hanzhong, Ankang and Shangluo.

The Liupan Mountains (Chinese: 六盘山; pinyin: Lìupán Shān) are a mountain range in northwestern China, located mostly in southern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The range marks the southwestern boundary of the Ordos Basin.

Its southern section is known as Mount Long (Chinese: 陇山; pinyin: Lǒng Shān), which strides southeast through eastern Gansu and western Shaanxi province before joining into the Qinling Mountains, giving rise to regional names like "Longxi" (陇西, lit. "west of Mount Long"), "Longdong" (陇东, "east of Mount Long", referring to the Jing River valley basin region around eastern Pingliang, southern Qingyang and northern Xianyang) and "Longnan" (陇南, "south of Mount Long"). It is the western boundary of the Guanzhong Plain, and is also the source of the Qian River (千河), a left tributary of the Wei River that flows through the prefectural city of Baoji.

Northern Shaanxi or Shaanbei (陕北) is the northern portion of China's Shaanxi province. More specifically, it refers to the region north of the Huanglong Mountain and the Meridian Ridge (the so-called "Guanzhong north mountains") within the province. Being both a geographic area as well as a cultural area, it makes up the southeastern portion of the Ordos Basin and forms the northern part of the Loess Plateau. The region includes two prefecture-level cities: Yulin, which is known for the Ming Great Wall traversing through its northern part; and Yan'an, which is known for being the birthplace of the Chinese Communist Revolution.

Hetao (Chinese: 河套; pinyin: Hétào; lit. '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 region makes up the northern margin of the Ordos Basin, bounded in the west by the Helan Mountains, the north by the Yin Mountains, the east by the northern portion of Lüliang Mountains, and the south by the Ordos Desert and the Loess Plateau (separated by the course of the Ming Great Wall).

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. Ningxia Plain) around Shizuishan, Yinchuan, and Wuzhong, and the Weining Plain (Chinese: 卫宁平原) around Zhongwei. The east section is further divided into two parts — the western "Back Loop" (Chinese: 后套; pinyin: Hòutào), which includes the Bayannur Plain (Chinese: 巴彦淖尔平原) around Bayannur and Wuhai; and the eastern "Front Loop" Chinese: 前套; pinyin: Qiántào), which includes the Tumochuan Plain (Chinese: 土默川平原) around Baotou and Hohhot.