General Introduction

Bordering on the Mongolian People's Republic in the north, Inner Mongolia is an oblong strip extending from northeast to southwest with an area of 1.2 million square kilometers, or one-eighth of the country's total. Its population of 18.77 million includes 2.09 million Mongolians, 16 million Hans and the rest Huis, Manchus, Daurs and Ewenkis. About 23 per cent of the population in Inner Mongolia live in urban areas and 77 per cent in rural areas.

Inner Mongolia belonged to parts of Rehe, Qahar and Suiyuan provinces in 1928. On May 1, 1947, an autonomous region was set up in the eastern part of present-day Inner Mongolia liberated by the People's Liberation Army. After nationwide Liberation in 1949, parts of Suiyuan, Rehe, Qahar, Ningxia and Gansu where Mongolians lived in compact communities were incorporated into the autonomous region. In 1969, under the influence of the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary cliques, the Juud, Jiren and Hulunboir leagues in the east were incorporated into Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces and the regions west of the Bayannur League into Gansu and Ningxia provinces. The July 1979 decision by the State Council to return those parts to the jurisdiction of Inner Mongolia was well received there by the people of the various nationalities.

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Scenic Spots

Diamond Throne Dagoba (Jingangzuo Shelibaota)
Genghis Khan's Mausoleum
Hohhot
Ten Thousand Avatamsakasutras Pagoda (Wanbuhuayanjingta)
The Grand Mosque
Wusutuzhao Temple

Topography

Inner Mongolia forms the greater part of the Inner Mongolia Plateau, with the Greater Hinggan and Yinshan ranges stretching from northeast to southwest. It may be divided into six zones according to its terrain. 1) The northeastern part is made up of the Greater Hinggan range, with an elevation of 1,000-2,000 meters and dense forests. 2) The Hulunboir Plateau west of the Greater Hinggan range, about 1,000 meters above sea level, has vast areas of grassland well suited for grazing. 3) The Northern Inner Mongolia Plateau, also 1,000 meters above sea level, comprises vast excellent natural pasturelands. There are many deserts on the plateau especially in its west. 4) The Songliao Plain east of the Greater Hinggan range adjoins the Northeast plain. 5) The Hetao Plain, known as the "granary along the Great Wall", between the Yinshan Mountains and the Huangbe River is crisscrossed with streams and fields. 6) The Ordos Plateau stands south of the Huanghe at a height of 1,200 meters. Here there are the Hobq and Muus deserts and numerous salt and alkali lakes.

Climate

Inner Mongolia, with a temperate continental monsoonal climate, has a cold, long winter with frequent blizzards and a warm, short summer. Except for the relatively humid Greater Hinggan Mountain Area, the greater' part of Inner Mongolia is, from west to east, arid, semi-arid and semi-humid.



Communications

The trunk rail lines are the Beijing-Baotou, Baotou-Lanzhou, Jining-Erenhot and Harbin. Manzhouli railways. Horse-carts and camels remain an important means of transportation but practically all the banners, counties and communes are accessible by highways. The section of the Huanghe in Inner Mongolia is navigable.