Shapotou District (simplified Chinese: 沙坡头区; traditional Chinese: 沙坡頭區; pinyin: Shāpōtóu Qū, Xiao'erjing: شَاپُوَتِوْ ٿِيُوِ) is a district of Zhongwei, Ningxia, China, noted for the Tengger Desert, and bordering Inner Mongolia to the north and Gansu province to the west.
It is the site of the Shapotou Desert Experimental Research Station. The research station is located at the southern end of the dune sea on the banks of the Yellow River. Research at station includes dune stabilization using grasses and microbial mats. Regions stabilized in the 1950s are now used for fruit and vine crops.
Sand dune stabilization in the region is required to curtail burial of the trans-Asia Baotou–Lanzhou Railway.
At present, Shapotou District, has 10 towns and 1 township.[2]