The Hobq Desert of northern China is a major proximal sediment source for the Chinese Loess Plateau, and the sedimentary successions of this region are key for understanding the history of aridification in inland Asia. Here, we present a paleomagnetic chronology for the 402-m-thick DK Core drilled in the Hobq Desert. Using this chronology, we reconstruct the Quaternary history of aridification based on grain-size and environmental magnetic proxy data. Our results demonstrate that a desert environment has existed in this region since at least similar to 2.5 Ma. A major intensification of aridity occurred at similar to 1.1 Ma, coinciding with widespread mid-Pleistocene drying across Asia. Spectral analysis of aeolian sand components reveals a shift in orbital periodicities from dominant similar to 40-ka cycles prior to similar to 1.1 Ma to predominant similar to 100-ka cycles thereafter. This shift aligns with the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, implicating global ice-volume forcing and phased uplift of the Tibetan Plateau as drivers of this climatic change. A shift to wetter conditions after similar to 0.38 Ma was likely driven by an intensified and northward-migrating Asian Summer Monsoon, combined with regional tectonic activity. We conclude that the long-term evolution of the Hobq Desert was controlled by the combined effects of global orbital-scale climate forcing and regional tectonic factors.