An Introduction to Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region 内蒙古自治区简介

Abbreviation: Neimenggu 内蒙古
Capital: Hohhot
Area: More than 1.1 million square kilometers
Population: 23.35 million of 49 ethnic groups, mainly inhabited by ethnic Mongolian and Han peoples.
Location: In north China’s frontier, neighbouring Russia and Mongolia with 4,200-kilonters long borderline.

Dubbed “the kingdom of animal husbandry” in China, the Inner Mongolia, one of the country’s most important stock breeding bases, is located in the upper reaches of the Yellow, Liaohe and Nenjiang rivers. According to geological structure, the region falls into six sections, encompassing the Inner Mongolia Plateau, Greater Xing’an Mountains, Yanshan Mountains, Ordos Plateau, Songliao and Hetao Plain. The region’s farm produces are mainly produced in the Hetao P;asin, the west of Liaohe Plain, Greater Xing’an Mountains, Yinshan Mountains and Yanshan Mountains. Around these areas, solar energy is enormous. The annual radiation quantity reaches 115-167 kilocalories. The radiation quantity from April to September, during which plants grow rapidly, constitutes 65 per cent of the year’s total. In this agricultural region, the average temperature is 2℃ to 8℃ . Frost-free period is 100 to 165 days. Annual precipitation is 200 to 450 millimeters, declining from northeast to southwest. Seventy per cent of the precipitation concentrates in the June-August period when plants thrive. Crops in the region include wheat, corn, rice, soybean, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, potato, sugar beet, sunflower, flax and castor-oil plant. The wheat in Ba League, the corn in Zhe League and the soybe4an in Xing’an League are high-yielding, and therefore, the dominant crops in the whole region.

Plateaus, with an altitude of more than 1,000 meters, dominate the landscape of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. All the plateaus are grossly called the Inner Mongolia. There are mountains such as Mount Greater Xing’an, Mount Helan, Mount Wula and Mount Daqing. The Inner Mongolian grasslands are of a vast expanse; the two most famous grasslands are the Hulunbuir Grassland and Xinlingol Grassland. Famous lakes refer to Lake Hulun and Buir. The Yellow River—the second longest river in China—flows through the southwestern part of the region. Inner Mongolia belongs to temperate continental and monsoon climate.

The region’s role can be summed up as “the largest ecological protective screen in the north, the vanguard of opening-up to countries bordering North China and a major resource provider.”

Inner Mongolia has started to speed up its economic development since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Its main industries include mining, metallurgy and rare-earth metal, etc. There are over 60 kinds of minerals, among them rare earth metal, coal and silver are of big reserves. The pastureland in Inner Mongolia is the largest in China. The forestry in Mount Greater Xing’an has a big accumulation of timbers. The region is of China’s important animal husbandry bases, with fertile grasslands. Famous livestock species include Sanhe horse, Sanhe ox and Inner Mongolia fuzz sheep. The local produces of fine quality include old-styled purely fur, carpet, goat wool, “facai 发菜”---nostoc flagelliforme born et flah, saint gorgeous mushroom, and the Yellow River carp.

The 880,000-square-kilometer grassland in Inner Mongolia is fertile and enjoys a splendid view. The Hulunbuir and Xinlingol prairies are the most well known grasslands in the region. Furthermore, countless attractions are scattered amid the primitive forests of the Greater Xing’an Mountains, Badain Jaran Desert and Tengger Desert. Other prime attractions include Genghis Khan’s Mausoleum, Tomb of Wang Zhaojun, Wu Dang Lamasery and Temple of Five Pagodas. Each year there is the traditional “Nadam (meaning entertainment or recreation) Fair 那达幕大会” in a bid to celebrate a bumper harvest, and the hospitable Inner Mongolian people are awaiting visitors from home and abroad and greeting them with fragrant ghee (clarified butter from the butterfat of cow or other milk) tea. The cemetery of the father of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) Genghis Khan (1162-1227), the Sino-Russian market in Manzhouli and the Genentala Prairie all have been appraised as 4A tourist destinations by the National Tourism Admininstration of China.

Nadam 那达慕盛会

In Mongolain, “Nadam” means “recreation /play” or “entertainment” It is said that Genghis Khan, a Mongolian monarch who succeeded in 1209 in conquering vast swathes of Asia and establishing a unified regime, held “Nadam” regularly to keep his soldiers fit and happy. Seven hundred years later, Nadam has grown into the most famous traditional festival in the region. Wrestling, archery and horseracing are the three main sporting attractions. Rooted in the midst of antiquity, the three events once served as official tests, male courage and expertise. They maintain a similar function today, and are extremely popular among Mongolian men living on the grasslands. Usually taking place during the period from May to June, the year 2000 marked the first Nadam to have been held in winter, when snow and ice covered most parts of the Hulunbuir League. Although daytime temperatures fell as low as minus 30 ℃, up to 500 amateur wrestlers, horse racers, and archers from seven countries, including China, the United States, Russia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, arrived to take part in the three-day winter festivity.

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