Inner Mongolia

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Nei Mongol Autonomous Region
内蒙古自治区
Autonomous region
Name transcription(s)
 • Chinese 内蒙古自治区 (Nèi Měnggǔ Zìzhìqū)
 • Abbreviation 内蒙 or 内蒙古[1] (pinyin: Nèi Měng or Nèi Měnggǔ)
 • Mongolian
 • Mongolian transl. Öbür mongγol-un öbertegen zasaqu orun[nb 1]
Map showing the location of Inner Mongolia
Map showing the location of Inner Mongolia
Coordinates: 44°N 113°E / 44°N 113°ECoordinates: 44°N 113°E / 44°N 113°E
Named for From the Mongolian öbür monggol, where öbür means the front, sunny side of natural barrier (a mountain, mountain range, lake or desert etc..).
Capital Hohhot
Largest city Chifeng
Divisions 12 prefectures, 101 counties, 1425 townships
Government
 • Secretary Wang Jun
 • Governor Bagatur
Area[2]
 • Total 1,183,000 km2 (457,000 sq mi)
Area rank 3rd
Population (2010)[3]
 • Total 24,706,321
 • Rank 23rd
 • Density 20.2/km2 (52/sq mi)
 • Density rank 28th
Demographics
 • Ethnic composition Han - 79%
Mongol - 17%
Manchu - 2%
Hui - 0.9%
Daur - 0.3%
 • Languages and dialects Jin, Northeastern Mandarin, Beijing Mandarin, Mongolian, Oirat, Buryat, Dagur, Evenki
ISO 3166 code CN-15
GDP (2013) CNY 1,683.2 billion
US$ 273.9 billion (15th)
 - per capita CNY 67,498
US$ 10,992 (5th)
HDI (2010) 0.722 (high) (8th)
Website http://www.nmg.gov.cn
(Simplified Chinese)

Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: s ᠦᠪᠦᠷ
ᠮᠤᠩᠭᠤᠯ Öbür Monggol and c Өвөр Монгол, Övör Mongol; Chinese: 内蒙古; pinyin: Nèi Měnggǔ), officially Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region or Nei Mongol Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the north of the country, containing most of China's border with Mongolia (the rest of the China-Mongolia border is taken up by the Xinjang and Gansu provinces) and a small section of the border with Russia. Its capital is Hohhot, and other major cities include Baotou, Chifeng, and Ordos.

The Autonomous Region was established in 1947, incorporating the areas of the former Republic of China provinces of Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei and Xing'an, along with the northern parts of Gansu and Ningxia. It is the third largest subdivision of China, spanning approximately 1,200,000 km2 (463,000 sq mi) or 12% of China's total land area. It had a population of 24,706,321 at the 2010 census, accounting for 1.84% of Mainland China's total population. Inner Mongolia is the country's 23rd most populous province-level division.[4] The majority of the population in the region are Han Chinese, with a substantial Mongol minority. The official languages are Chinese and Mongolian, the latter written in the traditional Mongolian script, as opposed to the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet used in the state of Mongolia.

Name

In Chinese, the region is known as "Inner Mongolia", where the terms of "Inner/Outer" are derived from Manchu dorgi/tulergi (cf. Mongolian dotugadu/gadagadu). Inner Mongolia is distinct from Outer Mongolia, which was a term used by the Republic of China and previous governments to refer to what is now the independent state of Mongolia plus the Republic of Tuva in Russia. In Mongolian, the region was called Dotugadu monggol during Qing rule and was renamed into Öbür Monggol in 1947, öbür meaning the southern side of a mountain, while the Chinese term nei menggu was retained. In recent years, some Mongols began to call Inner Mongolia Nan Menggu and with it came the change of English translation from Inner Mongolia to Southern Mongolia.[5]

History

Much of what is known about the history of Greater Mongolia, including Inner Mongolia, is known through Chinese chronicles and historians. Before the rise of the Mongols in the 13th century, what is now central and western Inner Mongolia, especially the Hetao region, alternated in control between Chinese agriculturalists in the south and Xiongnu, Xianbei, Khitan, Jurchen, Tujue, and nomadic Mongol of the north. The historical narrative of what is now Eastern Inner Mongolia mostly consists of alternations between different Tungusic and Mongol tribes, rather than the struggle between nomads and Chinese agriculturalists.

Early History

Slab Grave cultural monuments are found in northern, central and eastern Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, north-western China, southern, central-eastern and southern Baikal territory. Mongolian scholars prove that this culture related to the Proto-Mongols.[6]

During the Zhou Dynasty, central and western Inner Mongolia (the Hetao region and surrounding areas) were inhabited by nomadic peoples such as the Loufan, Linhu, and Dí, while eastern Inner Mongolia was inhabited by the Donghu. During the Warring States period, King Wuling (340–295 BC) of the state of Zhao based in what is now Hebei and Shanxi provinces pursued an expansionist policy towards the region. After destroying the Dí state of Zhongshan in what is now Hebei province, he defeated the Linhu and Loufan and created the commandery of Yunzhong near modern Hohhot. King Wuling of Zhao also built a long wall stretching through the Hetao region. After Qin Shihuang created the first unified Chinese empire in 221 BC, he sent the general Meng Tian to drive the Xiongnu from the region, and incorporated the old Zhao wall into the Qin Dynasty Great Wall of China. He also maintained two commanderies in the region: Jiuyuan and Yunzhong, and moved 30,000 households there to solidify the region. After the Qin Dynasty collapsed in 206 BC, these efforts were abandoned.[7]

During the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu sent the general Wei Qing to reconquer the Hetao region from the Xiongnu in 127 BC. After the conquest, Emperor Wu continued the policy of building settlements in Hetao to defend against the Xiong-Nu. In that same year he established the commanderies of Shuofang and Wuyuan in Hetao. At the same time, what is now eastern Inner Mongolia was controlled by the Xianbei, who would later on eclipse the Xiongnu in power and influence.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD), Xiongnu who surrendered to the Han Dynasty began to be settled in Hetao, and intermingled with the Han immigrants in the area. Later on during the Western Jin Dynasty, it was a Xiongnu noble from Hetao, Liu Yuan, who established the Han Zhao kingdom in the region, thereby beginning the Sixteen Kingdoms period that saw the disintegration of northern China under a variety of Han and non-Han (including Xiongnu and Xianbei) regimes.

The Sui Dynasty (581–618) and Tang Dynasty (618–907) re-established a unified Chinese empire, and like their predecessors they conquered and settled people into Hetao, though once again these efforts were aborted when the Tang empire began to collapse. Hetao (along with the rest of what now consists Inner Mongolia) was then taken over by the Khitan Empire (Liao Dynasty), founded by the Khitans, a nomadic people originally from what is now the southern part of Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia. They were followed by the Western Xia of the Tanguts, who took control of what is now the western part of Inner Mongolia (including western Hetao) . The Khitans were later replaced by the Jurchens, precursors to the modern Manchus, who established the Jin Dynasty over Manchuria and northern China.

Mongol Period

Genghis Khan entering Beijing.
Mongol states, XIV-XVII : 1. Mongolian Khaganate 2. Oirat Khanate 3. Moghulistan 4. Qara Del

After Genghis Khan unified the Mongol tribes in 1206 and founded the Mongol Empire, the Tangut Western Xia empire was ultimately conquered in 1227, and the Jurchen Jin Dynasty fell in 1234. In 1271, Genghis Khan's grandson Khubilai established the Yuan Dynasty. Khubilai's summer capital Shangdu (aka Xanadu) was located near present-day Dolonnor. During that time Ongud and Khunggirad peoples dominated the area of what is now Inner Mongolia. After the Yuan Dynasty was defeated by the Han-led Ming Dynasty in 1368, the Ming rebuilt the Great Wall of China at its present location, which roughly follows the southern border of the modern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (though it deviates significantly at the Hebei-Inner Mongolia border). The Ming established the Three Guards composed of the Mongols there. Soon after the Tumu incident in 1449, when the Oirat ruler Esen taishi captured the Chinese emperor, Mongols flooded south from Northern Mongolia to Southern Mongolia. Thus from then on until 1635, Inner Mongolia was the political and cultural center of the Mongols during the Post-Imperial Mongolia.[8]

Inner Mongolia

Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 內蒙古
Simplified Chinese 内蒙古
Nei Mongol Autonomous Region
Traditional Chinese 內蒙古自治區
Simplified Chinese 内蒙古自治区
Mongolian name
Mongolian

ᠦᠪᠦᠷ
ᠮᠤᠩᠭᠤᠯ
Öbür Monggol
Өвөр Монгол
Övör Mongol

ᠦᠪᠦᠷ
ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠤᠯ ᠤᠨ
ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠭᠡᠨ
ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠣ
ᠣᠷᠣᠨ
Öbür mongγol-un öbertegen zasaqu orun
Өвөр Монголын Өөртөө Засах Орон
Övör Mongolyn Öörtöö Zasakh Oron

Qing Period

The eastern Mongol tribes near and in Manchuria, particularly the Khorchin and Southern Khalkha in today's Inner Mongolia intermarried, formed alliances with, and fought against the Jurchen tribes until Nurhaci, the founder of the new Jin Dynasty, consolidated his control over all groups in the area in 1593.[9] The Manchus gained far-reaching control of the Inner Mongolian tribes in 1635, when Ligden Khan's son surrendered the Chakhar Mongol tribes to the Manchus. The Manchus subsequently invaded Ming China in 1644, bringing it under the control of their newly established Qing Dynasty. Under the Qing Dynasty (1636–1912), Greater Mongolia was administered in a different way for each region:

The Inner Mongolian Chahar leader Ligdan Khan, a descendant of Genghis Khan, opposed and fought against the Qing until he died of smallpox in 1634. Thereafter, the Inner Mongols under his son Ejei Khan surrendered to the Qing and was given the title of Prince (Qin Wang, 親王), and Inner Mongolian nobility became closely tied to the Qing royal family and intermarried with them extensively. Ejei Khan died in 1661 and was succeeded by his brother Abunai. After Abunai showed disaffection with Manchu Qing rule, he was placed under house arrested in 1669 in Shenyang and the Kangxi Emperor gave his title to his son Borni. Abunai then bid his time and then he and his brother Lubuzung revolted against the Qing in 1675 during the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, with 3,000 Chahar Mongol followers joining in on the revolt. The revolt was put down within two months, the Qing then crushed the rebels in a battle on April 20, 1675, killing Abunai and all his followers. Their title was abolished, all Chahar Mongol royal males were executed even if they were born to Manchu Qing princesses, and all Chahar Mongol royal females were sold into slavery except the Manchu Qing princesses. The Chahar Mongols were then put under the direct control of the Qing Emperor unlike the other Inner Mongol leagues which maintained their autonomy.

Despite officially prohibiting Han Chinese settlement on the Manchu and Mongol lands, by the 18th century the Qing decided to settle Han refugees from northern China who were suffering from famine, floods, and drought into Manchuria and Inner Mongolia so that Han Chinese farmed 500,000 hectares in Manchuria and tens of thousands of hectares in Inner Mongolia by the 1780s.[10]

Ordinary Mongols were not allowed to travel outside their own leagues. During the eighteenth century, growing numbers of Han Chinese settlers had illegally begun to move into the Inner Mongolian steppe. By 1791 there had been so many Han Chinese settlers in the Front Gorlos Banner that the jasak had petitioned the Qing government to legalize the status of the peasants who had already settled there.[11]

During the nineteenth century, the Manchus were becoming increasingly sinicized, and faced with the Russian threat, they began to encourage Han Chinese farmers to settle in both Mongolia and Manchuria. This policy was followed by subsequent governments. The railroads that were being built in these regions were especially useful to the Han Chinese settlers. Land was either sold by Mongol Princes, or leased to Han Chinese farmers, or simply taken away from the nomads and given to Han Chinese farmers. The Jindandao Incident, a rebellion by an ethnic Chinese secret society called Jindandao occurred in Inner Mongolia in November 1891 and massacred 150,000 Mongols before being suppressed by government troops in late December.

Republic of China period

Outer Mongolia gained independence from the Qing Dynasty in 1911, when the Jebtsundamba Khutugtu of the Khalkha was declared the Bogd Khan of Mongolia. Although almost all banners of Inner Mongolia recognized the Bogd Khan as the supreme ruler of Mongols, the internal strife within the region prevented a full reunification. The Mongol rebellions in Inner Mongolia were counterbalanced by princes who hoped to see a restored Qing dynasty in Manchuria and Mongolia, as they considered the theocratic rule of the Bogd Khan would be against their modernizing objectives for Mongolia.[12] Eventually, the newly formed Republic of China promised a new nation of five races (Han, Manchu, Mongol, Tibetan and Uyghur),[13] and suppressed the Mongol rebellions in the area,[14][15] forcing the Inner Mongolian princes to recognize the Republic of China.

The Republic of China reorganized Inner Mongolia into provinces:

Some Republic of China maps still show this structure.

Mengjiang period

Main article: Mengjiang

Mengjiang was an autonomous area of Reorganized National Government of China, which was a puppet regime of Japan.

In 1931 Manchuria came under the control of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo, taking the Mongol areas in the Manchurian provinces (i.e. Hulunbuir and Jirim leagues) along. Rehe was also incorporated into Manchukuo in 1933, taking Juu Uda and Josutu leagues along with it. These areas were administered by Manchukuo until the end of World War II in 1945.

In 1937, open war broke out between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. On December 8, 1937, Mongolian Prince De Wang declared the independence of the remaining parts of Inner Mongolia (i.e. the Suiyuan and Chahar provinces) as Mengkiang or Mengkukuo, and signed close agreements with Manchukuo and Japan. The capital was established at Zhangbei (now in Hebei province), with the puppet government's control extending as far west as the Hohhot region. In August 1945, Mengkiang was taken by Soviet and Outer Mongolian troops during Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation. Despite a considerable movement among Inner Mongolia's Mongols(who comprised then around 15% of Inner Mongolia's population, while Han Chinese around 83%) for unification with Outer Mongolia, Inner Mongolia remained part of China.

Communist era

The Communist movement gradually gained momentum as part of the Third Communist International in Inner Mongolia during the Japanese period. By the end of WWII, the Inner Mongolian faction of the ComIntern had a functional militia, and actively opposed the attempts at independence by De Wang's Chinggisid princes on the grounds of fighting feudalism. Following the end of World War II, the Chinese Communists gained control of Manchuria as well as the Inner Mongolian Communists with decisive Soviet support, and established the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 1947. The Comintern army was absorbed into the People's Liberation Army. Initially the autonomous region included just the Hulunbuir region. Over the next decade, as the communists established the People's Republic of China and consolidated control over mainland China, Inner Mongolia was expanded westwards to include five of the six original leagues (except Josutu League, which remains in Liaoning province), the northern part of the Chahar region, by then a league as well (southern Chahar remains in Hebei province), the Hetao region, and the Alashan and Ejine banners. Eventually, near all areas with sizeable Mongol populations were incorporated into the region, giving present-day Inner Mongolia its elongated shape. The leader of Inner Mongolia during that time, as both regional CPC secretary and head of regional government, was Ulanhu.

During the Cultural Revolution, the administration of Ulanhu was purged, and a wave of repressions was initiated against the Mongol population of the autonomous region.[16] In 1969 much of Inner Mongolia was distributed among surrounding provinces, with Hulunbuir divided between Heilongjiang and Jilin, Jirim going to Jilin, Juu Uda to Liaoning, and the Alashan and Ejine region divided among Gansu and Ningxia. This was reversed in 1979.

Inner Mongolia has seen considerable development since Deng Xiaoping instituted Chinese economic reform in 1978. For about ten years since 2000, Inner Mongolia's GDP growth has been the highest in the country, (along with Guangdong) largely owing to the success of natural resource industries in the region. GDP growth has continually been over 10%, even 15% and connections with the Wolf Economy to the north has helped development. However, growth has come at a cost with huge amounts of pollution and degradation to the grasslands.[17] Attempts to attract ethnic Chinese to migrate from other regions, as well as ubranise those rural nomads and peasants has led to huge amounts of corruption and waste in public spending, such as Ordos City.[18][19] Acute uneven wealth distribution has has further exacerbated etnhic tensions, many indigenous Mongolians feeling they are increasingly marginalised in their own homeland, leading to riots in 2011 and 2013.[20][21]

Geography

Grasslands in the region

Officially Inner Mongolia is classified as one of the provincial-level divisions of North China, but its great stretch means that parts of it belong to Northeast China and Northwest China as well. It borders eight provincial-level divisions in all three of the aforementioned regions (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Gansu), tying with Shaanxi for the greatest number of bordering provincial-level divisions. Most of its international border is with Mongolia, which, in Chinese, is sometimes called “Outer Mongolia” (外蒙古), while a small portion is with Russia.

Weeping willows (Salix Babylonica) grow tall at the Zhaojun Tomb in Hohhot, reflecting the milder climate there.

Inner Mongolia largely consists of the northern side of the North China Craton, a tilted and sedimented Precambrian block. In the extreme southwest is the edge of the Tibetan Plateau where the autonomous region’s highest peak, Main Peak in the Helan Mountains reaches 3,556 metres (11,670 ft), and is still being pushed up today in short bursts.[22] Most of Inner Mongolia is a plateau averaging around 1,200 metres (3,940 ft) in altitude and covered by extensive loess and sand deposits. The northern part consists of the Mesozoic era Khingan Mountains, and is owing to the cooler climate more forested, chiefly with Manchurian elm, ash, birch, Mongolian oak and a number of pine and spruce species. Where discontinuous permafrost is present north of Hailar District, forests are almost exclusively coniferous. In the south the natural vegetation is grassland in the east and very sparse in the arid west, and grazing is the dominant economic activity.

Owing to the ancient, weathered rocks lying under its deep sedimentary cover, Inner Mongolia is a major mining district, possessing large reserves of coal, iron ore and rare earth minerals, which have made it a major industrial region today.

Climate

Due to its elongated shape, Inner Mongolia has a wide variety of regional climates. Throughout the province, the climate is based off a four-season, monsoon climate. The winters in Inner Mongolia are very long, cold, and dry with frequent blizzards, though snowfall is so light that Inner Mongolia has no modern glaciers[22] even on the highest Helan peaks. The spring is short, mild and arid, with large, dangerous sandstorms, whilst the summer is very warm to hot and relatively humid except in the west where it remains dry. Autumn is brief and sees a steady cooling, with temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) reached in October in the north and November in the south.

Officially, most of Inner Mongolia is classified as either a cold arid or steppe regime (Köppen BWk, BSk, respectively). The small portion besides these are classified as humid continental (Köppen Dwb) in the northeast, or subarctic (Köppen Dwc) in the far north near Hulunbuir.[23]

Administrative divisions

Main articles: List of administrative divisions of Inner Mongolia and List of township-level divisions of Inner Mongolia

Inner Mongolia is divided into twelve prefecture-level divisions. Until the late 1990s, most of Inner Mongolia's prefectural regions were known as Leagues (Chinese: 盟), a usage retained from Mongol divisions of the Qing Dynasty. Similarly, county-level divisions are often known as Banners (Chinese: 旗). Since the 1990s, numerous Leagues have converted into prefecture-level cities, although Banners remain. The restructuring led to the conversion of primate cities in most leagues to convert to districts administratively (i.e.: Hailar, Jining and Dongsheng). Some newly founded prefecture-level cities have chosen to retain the original name of League (i.e.: Hulunbuir, Bayannur and Ulanqab), some have adopted the Chinese name of their primate city (Chifeng, Tongliao), and one League (Yekejuu) simply renamed itself Ordos. Despite these recent administrative changes, there is no indication that the Alxa, Hinggan, and Xilingol Leagues will convert to prefecture-level cities in the near future.

Map # Conventional[24] Administrative Seat Chinese
Hanyu Pinyin		 Mongolian
(Transcription from Mongolian)		 Population (2010)
— Prefecture-level city —
2 Bayannur Linhe District 巴彦淖尔市
Bāyànnào'ěr Shì
Bayannaɣur qota		 1,669,915
3 Wuhai Haibowan District 乌海市
Wūhǎi Shì
Üqai qota		 532,902
4 Ordos Dongsheng District 鄂尔多斯市
È'ěrduōsī Shì
Ordos qota		 1,940,653
5 Baotou Hondlon District 包头市
Bāotóu Shì
Buɣutu qota		 2,650,364
6 Hohhot
(Autonomous Regional seat)		 Huimin District 呼和浩特市
Hūhéhàotè Shì
Kökeqota		 2,866,615
7 Ulanqab Jining District 乌兰察布市
Wūlánchábù Shì
Ulaɣančab qota		 2,143,590
9 Chifeng Hongshan District 赤峰市
Chìfēng Shì
Ulaɣanqada qota		 4,341,245
10 Tongliao Horqin District 通辽市
Tōngliáo Shì
Tüŋliyou qota		 3,139,153
12 Hulunbuir Hailar District 呼伦贝尔市
Hūlúnbèi'ěr Shì
Kölön Buyir qota		 2,549,278
— League —
1 Alxa Alxa Left Banner
Bayanhot Oriat Subdistrict		 阿拉善盟
Ālāshàn Méng
Alaša ayimaɣ		 231,334
8 Xilingol Xilinhot 锡林郭勒盟
Xīlínguōlè Méng
Sili-yin Ɣool ayimaɣ		 1,028,022
11 Hinggan Ulanhot 兴安盟
Xīng'ān Méng
Qiŋɣan ayimaɣ		 1,613,250

Many of the prefecture-level cities were converted very recently from leagues.

The twelve prefecture-level divisions of Inner Mongolia are subdivided into 101 county-level divisions, including twenty-one districts, eleven county-level cities, seventeen counties, forty-nine banners, and three autonomous banners. Those are in turn divided into 1425 township-level divisions, including 532 towns, 407 townships, 277 sumu, eighteen ethnic townships, one ethnic sumu, and 190 subdistricts.

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 Greater Khingan ranges in the east. Reindeer herding is carried out by Evenks in the Evenk Autonomous Banner. More recently, growing grapes and winemaking have become an economic factor in the Wuhai area.

Theater in Hohhot

Inner Mongolia has abundance of resources especially coal, cashmere, natural gas, rare earth elements, and has more deposits of naturally occurring niobium, zirconium and beryllium than any other province-level region in China. However in the past, the exploitation and utilisation of resources were rather inefficient, which resulted in poor returns from rich resources. Inner Mongolia is also an important coal production base, with more than a quarter of the world's coal reserves located in the province.[25] It plans to double annual coal output by 2010 (from the 2005 volume of 260 million tons) to 500 million tons of coal a year.[26]

Inner Mongolia Gymnasium

Industry in Inner Mongolia has grown up mainly around coal, power generation, forestry-related industries, and related industries. Inner Mongolia now encourages six competitive industries: energy, chemicals, metallurgy, equipment manufacturing, processing of farm (including dairy) produce, and high technology. Well-known Inner Mongolian enterprises include companies such as ERDOS, Yili, and Mengniu.

The nominal GDP of Inner Mongolia in 2010 was 1.16 trillion yuan (US$172.1 billion), a growth of 16.9% from 2008, with an average annual increase of 20% from the period 2003-2007. Its per capita GDP reached 37,287 yuan (US$5,460) in 2009. In 2008, Inner Mongolia's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 90.7 billion yuan, 427.1 billion yuan, and 258.4 billion yuan respectively. The urban per capita disposable income and rural per capita net income were 14,431 yuan and 4,656 yuan, up 16.6% and 17.8% respectively.[27]

As with much of China, economic growth has led to a boom in construction, including new commercial development and large apartment complexes.

In addition to its large reserves of natural resources, Inner Mongolia also has the largest usable wind power capacity in China[25] thanks to strong winds which develop in the province's grasslands. Some private companies have set up wind parks in parts of Inner Mongolia such as Bailingmiao, Hutengliang and Zhouzi.

Economic and Technological Development Zones

Hohhot Export Processing Zone was established on June 21, 2002, by the State Council, which is located in the west of the Hohhot, with a planning area of 2.2 km2. Industries encouraged in the export processing zone include Electronics Assembly & Manufacturing, Telecommunications Equipment, Garment and Textiles Production, Trading and Distribution, Biotechnology/Pharmaceuticals, Food/Beverage Processing, Instruments & Industrial Equipment Production, Medical Equipment and Supplies, Shipping/Warehousing/Logistics, Heavy Industry.[29]

Government and politics

Main articles: Politics of Inner Mongolia and List of provincial leaders of the People's Republic of China

Under the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, articles 112-122, autonomous regions have limited autonomy in both the political and economic arena. Autonomous regions have more discretion in administering economic policy in the region in accordance with national guidelines. Structurally, the Chairman—who legally must be an ethnic minority and is usually ethnic Mongolian—is always kept in check by the Communist Party Regional Committee Secretary, who is usually from a different part of China (to reduce corruption) and Han Chinese. The current party secretary is Wang Jun.[30] The Inner Mongolian government and its subsidiaries follow roughly the same structure as that of a Chinese province. With regards to economic policy, as a part of increased federalism characteristics in China, Inner Mongolia has become more independent in implementing its own economic roadmap.

Demographics

Main articles: Southern Mongols, Mongols in China and List of Chinese ethnic groups
Muslim-themed Street in Hohhot

When the autonomous region was established in 1947, Han Chinese comprised 83.6% of the population, while the Mongols comprised 14.8% of the population.[31] By 2000, the percentage of Han Chinese had fallen to 79.2%. While the Hetao region along the Yellow River has always alternated between farmers from the south and nomads from the north, the most recent episode of Han Chinese migration began in the early 18th century with encouragement from the Qing Dynasty, and continued into the 20th century. Han Chinese live mostly in the Hetao region as well as various population centres in central and eastern Inner Mongolia. Over 70% of Mongols are concentrated in less than 18% of Inner Mongolia's territory (Hinggan League, and prefectures Tongliao and Chifeng).

Territories with Mongol majorities and near-majorities[32][33]
Name of Banner Mongol Population Percentage
Horqin Right Middle Banner, Hinggan (2009) 222,410 84.1%
New Barag Right Banner, Hulunbuir (2009) 28,369 82.2%
Horqin Left Back Banner, Tongliao 284,000 75%
New Barag Left Banner, Hulunbuir (2009) 31,531 74.9%
Horqin Left Middle Banner, Tongliao 395,000 73.5%
East Ujimqin Banner, Xilingol (2009) 43,394 72.5%
West Ujimqin Banner, Xilingol 57,000 65%
Sonid Left Banner, Xilingol (2006) 20,987 62.6%
Bordered Yellow Banner, Xilingol 19,000 62%
Hure Banner, Tongliao 93,000 56%
Jarud Banner, Tongliao 144,000 48%
Horqin Right Front Banner, Hinggan 162,000 45%
Old Barag Banner, Hulunbuir (2006) 25,903 43.6%
Jalaid Banner, Hinggan 158,000 39%
Ar Khorchin Banner, Chifeng (2002) 108,000 36.6%

Mongols are the second largest ethnic group, comprising 17.11% of the population. They include many diverse Mongolian-speaking groups; groups such as the Buryats and the Oirats are also officially considered to be Mongols in China. Many of the traditionally nomadic Mongols have settled in permanent homes as their pastoral economy was collectivized during the Maoist Era.

Other ethnic groups include the Daur, the Evenks, the Oroqen, the Hui, the Manchus, and the Koreans.

Ethnic groups in Inner Mongolia, 2010 census[34]
Ethnicity Population Percentage
Han Chinese 19,650,687 79.54%
Mongol 4,226,093 17.11%
Manchu 452,765 1.83%
Hui 221,483 0.90%
Daur 76,255 0.31%
Evenks 26,139 0.11%
Koreans 18,464 0.07%
Russians 4,673 0.02%
YearPopulation Han Chinese Mongol Manchu
1953[35] 6,100,104 5,119,928 83.9% 888,235 14.6% 18,354 0.3%
1964[35] 12,348,638 10,743,456 87.0% 1,384,535 11.2% 50,960 0.4%
1982[35] 19,274,281 16,277,616 84.4% 2,489,378 12.9% 237,149 1.2%
1990[36] 21,456,500 17,290,000 80.6% 3,379,700 15.8%
2000[37] 23,323,347 18,465,586 79.2% 3,995,349 17.1% 499,911 2.3%
2010[38] 24,706,321 19,650,687 79.5% 4,226,093 17.1%

Excludes members of the People's Liberation Army in active service.

Language and culture

A KFC in Hohhot, the capital, with a bilingual street sign in Chinese and Mongolian

The Han Chinese of Inner Mongolia speak a variety of dialects, depending on the region. The eastern parts tend to speak Northeastern Mandarin, which belongs to the Mandarin group of dialects; those in the central parts, such as the Huang He valley, speak varieties of Jin, another subdivision of Chinese, due to its proximity to other Jin-speaking areas in China such as the Shanxi province. Cities such as Hohhot and Baotou both have their unique brand of Jin Chinese such as the Zhangjiakou–Hohhot dialect which are sometimes incomprehensible with dialects spoken in northeastern regions such as Hailar.

Mongols in Inner Mongolia speak Mongolian dialects such as Chakhar, Xilingol, Baarin, Khorchin and Kharchin Mongolian and, depending on definition and analysis, further dialects[39] or closely related independent Central Mongolic languages[40] such as Ordos, Khamnigan, Barghu Buryat and the arguably Oirat dialect Alasha. The standard pronunciation of Mongolian in China is based on the Chakhar dialect of the Plain Blue Banner, located in central Inner Mongolia, while the grammar is based on all Southern Mongolian dialects.[41] This is different from the Mongolian state, where the standard pronunciation is based on the closely related Khalkha dialect. There are a number of independent languages spoken in Hulunbuir such as the somewhat more distant Mongolic language Dagur and the Tungusic language Evenki. Officially, even the Evenki dialect Oroqin is considered a language.[42]

By law, all street signs, commercial outlets, and government documents must be bilingual, written in Mongolian and Chinese. There are three Mongolian TV channels in the Inner Mongolia Satellite TV network. In public transportation, all announcements are to be bilingual. Many ethnic Mongols, especially the young, speak fluent Chinese; Mongolian use is receding in urban areas. But rural ethnic Mongols have kept more of their traditions. In terms of written language, Inner Mongolia has retained the classic Mongol written script as opposed to Mongolia's adoption of Cyrillic.

The vast grasslands have long symbolised Inner Mongolia. Mongolian art often depicts the grassland in an uplifting fashion and emphasizes Mongolian nomadic traditions. The Mongols of Inner Mongolia still practice their traditional arts. Inner Mongolian cuisine has Mongol roots and consists of dairy-related products and hand-held lamb (手扒肉). In recent years, franchises based on Hot pot have appeared Inner Mongolia, the best known of which is Xiaofeiyang (小肥羊). Notable Inner Mongolian commercial brand names include Mengniu and Yili, both of which began as dairy product and ice cream producers.

Among the Han Chinese of Inner Mongolia, Jinju (晉劇) or Shanxi Opera is a popular traditional form of entertainment. See also: Shanxi.

A popular career in Inner Mongolia is circus acrobatics. The internationally known Inner Mongolia Acrobatic Troupe travels and performs with the renowned Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

Religion

Religion in Inner Mongolia (Minzu University 2004)[43]
Cult of Tian and aobaoes
  
 80%
Other
  
 20%
Temple of the White Sulde in the town of Uxin, in the Mu Us Desert.[nb 2]

According to researches conducted by the Religious Studies Department of Minzu University of China, adherents of the five officially recognised religions of the state (Buddhism, Taoism, Protestantism, Catholicism and Islam) constitute only 3.7% of the population of Inner Mongolia.[43]

At the same time, 80% of the inhabitants of the region declare to worship Tian and aobao, features of both Chinese folk religion and Mongolian shamanism.[43]

The cult of Genghis Khan, present in the form of various Genghis Khan temples, is a tradition of Mongolian shamanism, in which he is considered a cultural hero and divine ancestor, an embodiment of the Tenger (Heaven, God of Heaven).[44] His worship in special temples, greatly developed in Inner Mongolia since the 1980s, is also shared by the Han Chinese, claiming his spirit as the founding principle of the Yuan dynasty.[45]

Tibetan Buddhism (Mongolian Buddhism) is the dominant form of Buddhism in Inner Mongolia, also practiced by many Han Chinese, and its influence may be far larger than what the official adherents statistics would testify. Another form of Buddhism, practiced by the Chinese, are the schools of Chinese Buddhism.

Tourism

In the capital city Hohhot:

Elsewhere in Inner Mongolia:

Chinese space program

One of China's space vehicle launch facilities, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) (Chinese: 酒泉卫星发射中心), is located in the extreme west of Inner Mongolia, in the Alxa League's Ejin Banner. It was founded in 1958, making it the PRC's first launch facility. More Chinese launches have occurred at Jiuquan than anywhere else. As with all Chinese launch facilities, it is remote and generally closed to the public. It is named as such since Jiuquan is the nearest urban center, although Jiuquan is in the nearby province of Gansu. Many space vehicles have also made their touchdowns in Inner Mongolia. For example, the crew of Shenzhou 6 landed in Siziwang Banner, near Hohhot.

Education

Colleges and universities

All of the above are under the authority of the autonomous region government. Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Cyrillic spelling, as used in Mongolia, would be Өвөр Монголын Өөртөө Засах Орон (Övör Mongolyn Öörtöö Zasakh Oron).
    In Unicode: ᠦᠪᠦᠷ
    ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠤᠯ ᠤᠨ
    ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠭᠡᠨ
    ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠣ
    ᠣᠷᠣᠨ
  2. ↑ The White Sulde is one of the two spirits of Genghis Khan (the other being the Black Sulde), represented either as his white or yellow horse or as a fierce warrior riding this horse. In its interior, the temple enshrines a statue of Genghis Khan (at the center) and four of his men on each side (the total making nine, a symbolic number in Mongolian culture), there is an altar where offerings to the godly men are made, and three white suldes made with white horse hair. From the central sulde there are strings which hold tied light blue pieces of cloth with a few white ones. The wall is covered with all the names of the Mongol kins. No photos are allowed inside the temple.

References

  1. ↑ "xinhua". xinhuanet.com.
  2. ↑ "Doing Business in China - Survey". Ministry Of Commerce - People's Republic Of China. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "Communiqué of the National Bureau of Statistics of People's Republic of China on Major Figures of the 2010 Population Census". National Bureau of Statistics of China.
  4. ↑ "TABULATION ON THE 2010 POPULATION CENSUS OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA". stats.gov.cn.
  5. ↑ Huhbator Borjigin. 2004. The history and political character of the name of 'Nei Menggu' (Inner Mongolia). Inner Asia 6: 61-80.
  6. ↑ History of Mongolia, Volume I, 2003
  7. ↑ Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian
  8. ↑ CPAtwood-Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, p.246
  9. ↑ Atwood, Christopher. Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, p.449
  10. ↑ Reardon-Anderson, James (Oct 2000). "Land Use and Society in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia during the Qing Dynasty". Environmental History (Forest History Society and American Society for Environmental History) 5 (No. 4): 506. JSTOR 3985584.
  11. ↑ The Cambridge History of China 10. Cambridge University Press. 1978. p. 356.
  12. ↑ Atwood, Christopher. The Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, p.454
  13. ↑ Atwood, Christopher. The Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, p.91
  14. ↑ Belov, E.A. Anti-Chinese rebellion led by Babujav in Inner Mongolia, 1915-1916. - Annaly (Moscow), no. 2, 1996.
  15. ↑ Belov, E.A. Rossiya i Mongoliya (1911–1919). Moscow: Vost. Lit.Publ.
  16. ↑ David Sneath, "The Impact of the Cultural Revolution in China on the Mongolians of Inner Mongolia", in Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 28, No. 2 (May, 1994), pp. 409-430
  17. ↑ Chi Chi Zhang, CNN (19 April 2012). "Ethnic Mongolians in China concerned about cultural threat". CNN.
  18. ↑ "Ordos, China: A Modern Ghost Town". TIME.com.
  19. ↑ "Ordos: The biggest ghost town in China". BBC News.
  20. ↑ "Inner Mongolians culture clash". CNN. 18 April 2012.
  21. ↑ http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/launches-09052013110502.html
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Wei Zhang, Mingyue He, Yonghua Li, Zhijiu Cui, Zhilin Wang and Yang Yu; “Quaternary glacier development and the relationship between the climate change and tectonic uplift in the Helan Mountains”; in Chinese Science Bulletin; December 2012, Volume 57, Issue 34, pp 4491-4504
  23. ↑ Peel, M. C. and Finlayson, B. L. and McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633-1644.
  24. ↑ Zhōngguó dìmínglù 中国地名录 (Beijing, SinoMaps Press 中国地图出版社 1997); ISBN 7-5031-1718-4.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "China Economy @ China Perspective". thechinaperspective.com.
  26. ↑ "People's Daily Online -- Inner Mongolia to double annual coal output by 2010". people.com.cn.
  27. ↑ "People's Daily Online -- Inner Mongolia's economy maintains a rapid growth momentum". people.com.cn.
  28. ↑ Baotou National Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Industiral Development Zone
  29. ↑ RightSite.asia | Hohhot Export Processing Zone
  30. ↑ "Who's Who in China's Leadership". china.org.cn.
  31. ↑ Myron Weiner, Sharon Stanton Russell(2001). Demography and national security. page 276, table 9.4.
  32. ↑ "Baidu" network: Inner Mongolian Banner demographics (in Chinese)
  33. ↑ "XZQH.org" network: Inner Mongolian Banner demographics (in Chinese)
  34. ↑ Department of Population, Social, Science and Technology Statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (国家统计局人口和社会科技统计司) and Department of Economic Development of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of China (国家民族事务委员会经济发展司), eds. Tabulation on Nationalities of 2010 Population Census of China (《2010年人口普查中国民族人口资料》). 2 vols. Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House (民族出版社), 2003. (ISBN 7-105-05425-5)
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 (without Rehe)《中华人民共和国人口统计资料汇编1949—1985》,"People's Republic of demographic data compilation 1949-1985" 中国财政经济出版社，1988。第924页。 "China Financial and Economic Publishing House, 1988. Section 924."
  36. ↑ 内蒙古自治区统计局(Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Bureau of Statistics) 1990年第四次人口普查(4th National Census)。
  37. ↑ 《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》, (5th National Census)民族出版社，2003。第4—8页。
  38. ↑ (6th National Census) 内蒙古自治区发布2010年第六次全国人口普查主要数据公报。
  39. ↑ e.g. Sečenbaγatur, Qasgerel, Tuyaγ-a, B. ǰirannige, U Ying ǰe. 2005. Mongγul kelen-ü nutuγ-un ayalγun-u sinǰilel-ün uduridqal. Kökeqota: ÖMAKQ.
  40. ↑ e.g. Janhunen, Juha. 2006. Mongolic languages. In: Brown, K. (ed.): The encyclopedia of language & linguistics. Amsterdam: Elsevier: 231-234.
  41. ↑ Sečenbaγatur et al. 2005: 85
  42. ↑ Janhunen, Juha. 1997. The languages of Manchuria in today’s China. In: Northern Minority languages: Problems of survival. Senri ethnological studies, 44: 123-146. See pages 130-133
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 Fenggang Yang, Graeme Lang. Social Scientific Studies of Religion in China. BRILL, 2012. ISBN 9004182462. pp. 184-185
  44. ↑ John Man. Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection. Bantam Press, London, 2004. ISBN 9780553814989. pp. 402-404
  45. ↑ John Man. Genghis Khan. Bantam, 2005. ISBN 0553814982. p. 23

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Inner Mongolia.
 MongoliaDornod, Sukhbaatar, Dornogovi, Omnogovi, Bayankhongor, and Govi-Altai Provinces, Mongolia  Russia Heilongjiang
Gansu Jilin
Liaoning
   Inner Mongolia  
Ningxia Shaanxi Hebei
Shanxi