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Inner Mongolia

geography Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Inner Mongolia is a huge part of China.

Inner Mongolia Map
Inner Mongolia Map

It is the third largest area in the whole country. This region covers about 12% of China's total land. It sits along a long border with Mongolia. It also shares a small border with Russia. Because the land stretches so far from east to west, it has two main parts. The eastern part is in Northeastern China. The western part is in North China.

Grasslands-menggu
Grasslands-menggu

Many different people live in this large region. In 2010, there were over 24 million people living here. Most of the people are Han Chinese. However, more than 4 million people are Mongols. This is actually the largest Mongol population in the world. It is even larger than the population in the country of Mongolia.

Inner Mongolia County-Level Ethnicity Map (2020 data)
Inner Mongolia County-Level Ethnicity Map (2020 data)

People use two main languages to speak. They use Mandarin and Mongolian. The Mongolian language uses a traditional script. This is different from the alphabet used in the country of Mongolia.

This land has a very long and busy history. Long ago, different groups lived on the Mongolian Plateau. Some were farmers and some were nomads who moved around. Many groups like the Xiongnu and the Xianbei lived here. Later, the famous Genghis Khan unified the Mongol tribes in 1206. His grandson, Kublai Khan, even started the Yuan dynasty. He had a summer capital called Shangdu near Dolonnor.

Northern Yuan
Northern Yuan

The Great Wall of China also runs near the southern border.

Inner Mongolia became its own official region in 1947. It was made by joining several older provinces together. These included Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei, and Xing'an. It also took parts from Gansu and Ningxia. The capital city of the region is Hohhot.

Kökeqota
Kökeqota

Other large cities include Baotou, Chifeng, Tongliao, and Ordos.

Tongliyao
Tongliyao

The region is quite successful with its economy. In 2022, its annual GDP per capita was US$14,343. This rank was 8th in all of China.

Today, the region is a mix of old and new. You can see modern things like the Inner Mongolia Gymnasium.

InnerMengolianGym
InnerMengolianGym

You can also find beautiful traditional items. For example, there are lovely Inner Mongolian carpets.

Inner Mongolian rug c. 1870
Inner Mongolian rug c. 1870

The land has many different types of weather. A climate map shows how the weather changes across the area.

Koppen-Geiger Map v2 CHN Nei Mongol 1991–2020
Koppen-Geiger Map v2 CHN Nei Mongol 1991–2020

From the big cities to the wide grasslands, there is much to see. It remains a very important place in Asia.

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🖼️ Images & Media (33)
File:Siège de Beijing (1213-1214).jpeg
Siège de Beijing (1213-1214).jpeg
File:Northern Yuan.png
Northern Yuan.png
File:Map-Qing Dynasty 1616-en.jpg
Map-Qing Dynasty 1616-en.jpg
File:Qing_Dynasty_1820.png
Qing_Dynasty_1820.png
File:1912 Inner Mongolia.jpg
1912 Inner Mongolia.jpg
File:Delegates of Inner Mongolia People's Congress shouting slogans.jpg
Delegates of Inner Mongolia People's...
File:Grasslands-menggu.jpg
Grasslands-menggu.jpg
File:Inner Mongolia Map.png
Inner Mongolia Map.png
File:Koppen-Geiger Map v2 CHN Nei Mongol 1991–2020.svg
Koppen-Geiger Map v2 CHN Nei Mongol 1991–2020.svg
File:坝上雪原夕阳(路人) - panoramio.jpg
坝上雪原夕阳(路人) - panoramio.jpg
File:OvormonggolAR.svg
OvormonggolAR.svg
File:Kökeqota.svg
Kökeqota.svg

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