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Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region ( Autonomous Region of the People's Republic Of China , although the vast majority of its population are Han Chinese . 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 Km&2 occupying 12% of China's land area, about the same as France and Spain added together, or Texas and California added together. It has a population of about 24 million as of 2004. The capital is Hohhot . The official languages are Standard Mandarin and Mongolian , the latter written in the Classical Alphabet . NAME In Chinese, the region is known as "Inner Mongolia", where the terms of "Inner/Outer" are derived from Manchu ''dorgi''/''tulergi''. 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 is known as ''öbör monggol'' where ''öbör'' can mean south, inner, front, bosom, breast. This is probably related to traditional Mongolian and Manchu world view where south is regarded as front, right as west, left as east and north as back. Some Mongolians use the name "Southern Mongolia" in English as well. HISTORY See Also: History of Mongolia Throughout most of history and time, central and western Inner Mongolia, especially the Hetao region, alternated in control between Chinese agriculturalists in the south and Xiongnu , Xianbei , Khitan , Nurchen , and Mongol nomads of the north. Eastern Inner Mongolia is properly speaking a part of Manchuria , and its historical narrative consists more of alternations between different groups there rather than the struggle between nomads and Chinese agriculturalists. During the and Yunzhong, and moved 30,000 households there to solidify the region. After the Qin Dynasty collapsed in 206 BC , these efforts were abandoned. 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 Western Xia of the Tangut s, which took control of what is now the western part of Inner Mongolia (including western Hetao). The Khitans were later replaced by the Jurchen s, precursors to the modern Manchu s, who established the Jinn Dynasty over Manchuria and northern China. Genghis Khan unified the Mongol tribes in 1206 , conquered the Tanguts in 1227 , the Jurchens in 1234 , and his descendants completed his conquest of China in 1279 , establishing the Yuan Dynasty . After the Yuan Dynasty was evicted from China by the Han Chinese 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 Manchus subjugated the Mongols in the early 17th century, then invaded Ming China in 1644 , bringing it under the control of their Qing Dynasty . Under the Manchu Qing Dynasty ( 1644 – 1912 ), Mongolia was administered in a different way for each region:
Ordinary Mongols were not allowed to travel outside their own leagues. While there had been Han Chinese farmers in what is now Inner Mongolia since the time of Altan Khan , mass settlement began in the late 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 has been 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. During the Republic Of China era, Outer Mongolia, with Russia n support, passed out of Chinese control and became a Soviet satellite. At the same time, Inner Mongolia was reorganized into provinces:
Some maps in Taiwan ( Republic Of China ) still show this structure. Manchuria came under the control of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo in 1931 , 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 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, thereby turning Inner Mongolia to a puppet of the Japanese Empire. 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 Operation August Storm . Following the end of World War II , the Chinese Communists regained Manchuria with some Soviet support, and established the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 1947 following Soviet nationalities policy. 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. In 1969 , during the Cultural Revolution , 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 . There are groups calling for the independence of Inner Mongolia from what they view as Chinese Imperialism ; these groups, however, have less influence and support within and outside Inner Mongolia than similar movements in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Taiwan. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS Inner Mongolia is divided into 12 Prefecture-level Divisions , including nine Prefecture-level Cities and three Leagues . The nine Prefecture-level Cities are:
The three Leagues are: Many of the Prefecture-level Cities were converted very recently from Leagues . See League (Inner Mongolia) for more information. The twelve Prefecture-level Divisions of Inner Mongolia are subdivided into 101 County-level Divisions , including twenty-one District s, eleven County-level Cities , seventeen Counties , forty-nine Banners , and three Autonomous Banner s. Those are in turn divided into 1425 Township-level Divisions , including 532 Town s, 407 Township s, 277 Sumu , eighteen Ethnic Township s, one Ethnic Sumu , and 190 Subdistrict s. See the List Of Administrative Divisions Of Inner Mongolia for a complete list of County-level Divisions . ECONOMY Farming of crops such as Wheat takes precedence along the river valleys. In the more arid grasslands, herding of Goat s, 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. Inner Mongolia has abundance of resources especially coal, Cashmere , natural gas, Rare Earth Element s, 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 in north China. 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 {Link without Title} . Industry in Inner Mongolia has grown up mainly around coal, Power Generation , forestry-related industries, and so forth. Inner Mongolia now laid emphasis on six competitive industries, namely energy, chemicals, metallurgy, equipment manufacturing, processing of farm (including Dairy ) produce as well as hi-tech products. Well-known Inner Mongolian enterprises include companies such as ERDOS , Yili , and Mengniu . The nominal GDP of Inner Mongolia in 2005 was 382.28 billion yuan (US$47.2 billion), a growth of 21.6% from 2004. It was also 120% higher than that in 2000, with an average annual increase of 16.6%. Its per capita GDP exceeded 15,500 yuan (US$1,900). Inner Mongolia's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 60.01 billion yuan, 168.51 billion yuan, and 153.76 billion yuan respectively. The urban per capita Disposable Income and rural per capita net income were 9,130 yuan and 2,980 yuan, up 78% and 46% respectively. [http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjfx/fxbg/t20060127_402303469.htm As with much of China, economic growth has led to a boom in construction, including new commercial development and large apartment complexes. DEMOGRAPHY See Also: List of Chinese ethnic groups Han Chinese are the largest ethnic group, constituting about 80% of the population. 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 Manchu 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. Mongols are the second largest ethnic group, comprising about 17% 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 Oroqin , the Hui , the Manchu s, and the Koreans . Excludes members of the People's Liberation Army in active service. Source: 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 2000 Population Census of China'' (《2000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) CULTURE See Also: Culture of Mongolia Music of Mongolia in Hohhot, the capital; All street signs must be bilingual with Mongol and Chinese ]] The Han Chinese of Inner Mongolia speak a variety of dialects, depending on the region. The eastern parts tend to speak Northeastern Mandarin , which belong 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 which are sometimes incomprehensible with dialects spoken in northeastern regions such as Hailar . Mongols in Inner Mongolia speak a variety of dialects of the Mongolian Language , including Chahar, Bairin, Ordos, Ejin-Alxa, Barghu-Buryat, etc.; the standard pronunciation of Mongolian in China is based on the Chahar dialect of the Plain Blue Banner , located in central Inner Mongolia. This is different from independent Mongolia, where the standard pronunciation is based on the Khalkha dialect. The Daur , Evenks , and Oroqin speak their own respective languages. By law, all street signs, commercial outlets, and government documents must be bilingual, displaying both Mongolian and Chinese. There are three Mongolian TV channels in the Inner Mongolia Satellite TV network. A recent trend has also taken place with public transportation, where all announcements are also to be bilingual. Many ethnic Mongols, especially those from the newest generation, speak fluent Chinese, as Mongolian is beginning to recede in everyday use in urban areas. Ethnic Mongols in rural areas, however, have kept their traditions. In terms of written language, Inner Mongolia has retained the Classic Mongol Written Script as opposed to Outer Mongolia's adoption of the Cyrillic Alphabet . The vast grasslands have always been symbolic of Inner Mongolia. Mongolian art often depicts the grassland in an uplifting fashion, emphasizing on the nomadic traditions of the Mongol people. The Mongol s of Inner Mongolia practice many traditional forms of art. Inner Mongolian specialty cuisine, largely derived from the tradition of ethnic Mongols, consists of Dairy -related products and ''hand-held lamb'' (手扒肉). In recent years franchises based on Hot Pot had sprung up from Inner Mongolia, the most famous of which is '' Xiaofeiyang '' (小肥羊). Inner Mongolia is also known commercially for the brand names Mengniu and Yili , both of which began with the production of dairy products and Ice Cream . Among the . Siqin Gaowa , a famous actress of China, is an ethnic Mongol native to Inner Mongolia. A popular career in Inner Mongolia is circus acrobatics. The famous Inner Mongolia Acrobatic Troupe travels and performs with the renowned Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. TOURISM In the capital city Hohhot :
Elsewhere in Inner Mongolia:
MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS 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. EXTERNAL LINKS
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