The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With 8,472 square miles (21,940 km2) and a population of more than 2.2 million people, it is the second-largest metropolitan area centered in Missouri (after Greater St. Louis) and is the largest metropolitan area in Kansas, though Wichita is the largest metropolitan area centered in Kansas. Alongside Kansas City, Missouri, these are the suburbs with populations above 100,000: Overland Park, Kansas; Kansas City, Kansas; Olathe, Kansas; Independence, Missouri; and Lee's Summit, Missouri.
Helan County (Pinyin: Helan Xian), under the jurisdiction of Yinchuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous region, is located in the northern part of Ningxia Hui Autonomous region, bought Lian County in the Western Han Dynasty, and changed its name to Helan County in 1941. As of 2013, Helan County covers an area of 1599 square kilometers. As of 2018, it has jurisdiction over 4 towns, 1 township, 3 fields and 1 management committee. In 2016, the total population of Helan County (resident population) was 255995. Helan County is located in the northwest inland of China's Loess Plateau, in the middle of the Qingtong Gorge irrigation area in Yinchuan Plain, mountainous area in the west and plain in the east. The basic characteristics of the topography trend are high in the southwest and low in the northeast, with a distorted surface tilting from southwest to northeast. The whole area is mainly composed of western mountain and eastern plain.