| Shapotou | |
| Native Name: | Chinese: 沙坡头区 Chinese: شَاپُوَتِوْ ٿِيُوِ |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Settlement Type: | County |
| Image Map1: | Location of Zhongwei Prefecture within Ningxia (China).png |
| Map Caption1: | Zhongwei in Ningxia |
| Coordinates: | 37.5169°N 105.1738°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | China |
| Subdivision Type1: | Autonomous region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Ningxia |
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture-level city |
| Subdivision Name2: | Zhongwei |
| Seat Type: | District seat |
| Seat: | Binhe |
| Area Total Km2: | 5380.42 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 census |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Total: | 399796 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Timezone: | China Standard |
| Utc Offset: | +8 |
Shapotou District (Xiao'erjing: Chinese: 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]