Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia (In Mongolian: öbür mongghul) is a region of the People's Republic of China administered as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Inner Mongolia is contrasted with Outer Mongolia, which consists of the independent nation of Mongolia. The terms of "Inner/Outer" are derived from Manchu dorgi/tulergi, and are viewed as Sinocentric by some. Mongolian people use North/South (aru/öbür) instead. Some Mongolians call it Southern Mongolia in English too.
Inner Mongolia borders, from east to west, the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Gansu, while to the north it borders Mongolia and Russia. It has an area of 1.18 million km² and a population of 23.76 million. The capital is Hohhot.
| Province Abbreviation(s): 内蒙 | |
| Capital | Hohhot |
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 3rd 1,180,000 km² xx% |
| Population
- Density | Ranked 23rh
22/km² |
| Administration Type | Autonomous Region |
| Chairman of the Government | Yang Jing |
 | |
History
Historically, the difference between Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia was that the Qing dynasty subdivided Inner Mongolia into standard Chinese provinces, while Outer Mongolia retained much of its pre-Qing governmental structure. Until 1949, Inner Mongolia was part of the provinces of Heilongjiang (later Xing'an), Fengtian (later Liaobei), Rehe, Chahar, Suiyuan, and Ningxia, and some maps in Taiwan still show the pre-1949 structure. (Insert interesting history during WWII) The Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region was established by the communists in 1947 following Soviet nationalities policy. It originally included just the eastern section of the present-day region; other areas were added later from other provinces.
Geography
Most of Inner Mongolia consists of high plateaus. The Da-Xingan (Greater Khingan) ranges cover much of the eastern parts, while the Yin Shan and Lang Shan mountains are found in the central regions. The Gobi Desert extends just north of the border with Mongolia. Other deserts include the Mu Us and Hobq deserts, south of the bend in the Yellow River, and the Badain Jaran desert in the west. The peak of Mount Helan, part of the Helan mountains along the border with Ningxia, is the highest point in the region with an altitude of 3556 m.
Much of the eastern part of Inner Mongolia is part of the watersheds of the Amur and Liao Rivers; the central region is crossed by the Yellow River (Huang He), which turns north into Inner Mongolia, passes near major cities like Hohhot and Baotou, before flowing back south. The rest of the region is not part of any oceanic watershed.
In general, the climate of Inner Mongolia is continental, with long winters and sharp temperature changes in spring and fall. In recent years, Desertification has become a major environmental problem in Inner Mongolia.
Major cities:
Economy
Farming of crops such as wheat takes precedence along the river valleys. In the more arid grasslands, herding of goats, sheep and so on is a traditional method of subsistence. Forestry and hunting are somewhat important in the Da-Xingan (Greater Khingan) ranges in the east. Reindeer herding is carried out by Evenks in the Evenk Autonomous Banner.
Inner Mongolia has more deposits of naturally-occurring niobium, zirconium and beryllium than any other province-level region in China. There are also coal deposits.
Industry in Inner Mongolia has grown up mainly around coal, power generation, forestry-related industries, and so forth.
The GDP of Inner Mongolia was 155 billion RMB, which a per capita income of 6463 RMB.
Demographics
Mongols and Han Chinese are the two largest ethnic groups, with the Mongols concentrated mainly on the grasshands and the Han along the river valleys. Other ethnic groups include the Daur, the Evenks, the Oroqin, the Hui, the Manchus, and the Koreans.
See List of Chinese ethnic groups.
Culture
The Mongols of Inner Mongolia speak Mongolian. The Daur, Evenks, and Oroqin speak their own respective languages.
Han Chinese of the eastern parts speak dialects of Mandarin, while those in the central parts, such as the Huang He valley, speak varieties of Jin-yu, another subdivision of Chinese.
(Jin-yu is sometimes classified as a subdivision of Mandarin. For more information, see Chinese spoken language.)
needs more culture information
Tourism
- Mausoleum of Genghis Khan
- Zhaojun Tomb, in Hohhot
Subdivisions
Inner Mongolia contains 9 prefecture-level cities and 3 leagues (also a prefecture-level subdivision):
(Note: "Prefecture-level cities" are not equivalent to cities. Rather, they are administrative entities under provinces and above counties, and contain rural areas many times larger than their urban, built-up core(s).
See Political divisions of China.)
(Note 2: There has been a recent trend, across all of China, whereby most prefecture-level subdivisions (such as leagues) have been changed into prefecture-level cities. In Inner Mongolia this has been applied onto former leagues in one of three ways:
1) The new prefecture-level city is named after the capital of the former league. In this case the original league name is lost, at least in official usage.
2) The new prefecture-level city is named after the former league. In this case the original capital name is kept, and is used to name the urban district that constitutes the "urban core" (i.e. the former capital).
3) A new name is improvised for the prefecture-level city. The old league name is lost, and the original capital name is kept in the same way as 2) above.
In order to maximally represent this situation, all current prefecture-level subdivisions will be represented by their former as well as current names in the chart that follows, as long as a change as described above has occurred recently. Recently-changed leagues/cities are then appended with a number that indicates the approach taken (see above).)
The nine prefecture-level cities:
- Hohhot (呼和浩特市 : Hūhéhàotè shì)
- Baotou (包头市 : Bāotóu shì)
- Wuhai (乌海市 : Wūhǎi shì)
- Chifeng (赤峰市 : Chìfēng shì) -- formerly Juu Uda League (昭乌达盟 Zhāowūdá méng) with capital Chifeng -- 1
- Tongliao (通辽市 : Tōngliáo shì) -- formerly Jirim League (哲里木盟 Zhélǐmù méng) with capital Tongliao -- 1
- Ordos city (鄂尔多斯市 : È'ěrduōsī shì) -- formerly Yeke Juu League (伊克昭盟 Yīkèzhāo méng) with capital Dongsheng (东胜市 Dōngshèng shì) -- 3
- Hulunbuir (呼伦贝尔市 : Hūlúnbèi'ěr shì) -- formerly Hulunbuir League with capital Hailar (海拉尔市 : Hǎilā'ěr shì) -- 2
- Baynnur (巴彦淖尔市 : Bāyànnào'ěr shì) -- formerly Baynnur League with capital Linhe (临河市 : Línhé shì) -- 2
- Ulaan Chab (乌兰察布市 : Wūlánchábù shì) -- formerly Ulaan Chab League with capital Jining (集宁市 : Jíníng shì) -- 2
(see above for explanation to numbers)
The three leagues:
- Xilin Gol (锡林郭勒盟 Xīlínguōlè méng) with capital of same name
- Alashan (阿拉善盟 Ālāshàn méng) with capital Alashan Left Banner (阿拉善左旗 Ālāshànzuǒ qí)
- Xing'an (兴安盟 Xīng'ān méng) with capital Ulaanhot (乌兰浩特市 Wūlánhàotè shì)
Note: the official governmental website of Inner Mongolia mentions that Xilin Gol has become the 10th prefecture-level city. Still waiting for confirmation from other sources.
At the county-level, Inner Mongolia has 21 urban districts, 17 counties, 11 county-level cities, 49 banners, and 3 autonomous banners.
Miscellaneous topics
Colleges and universities
- Inner Mongolian University, in Hohhot
