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Revision as of 23:02, 16 February 2006 by 128.138.41.190 (talk) (→External links)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ, Öbür Mongghul-un Öbertegen Jasaqu Orun ; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区, Nèi Měnggǔ Zìzhìqū) is a Mongol autonomous region of the People's Republic of China.
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 km² occupying 12 per cent of China's land area, and a population of 23.76 million. The capital is Hohhot.
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. "Inner" and "Outer" imply a perspective centered on China proper and can be construed as being sinocentric. In modern Chinese, the term "Outer Mongolia" is used less and less in favour of "Mengguguo" (蒙古国, literally "Country of Mongolia").
In Mongolian, the region is known as öbür monggol where öbür can mean south, inner, front, bosom, breast. This is probably related to traditional Mongolian and Manchu world view where south (China) 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
Throughout most of history, various parts of what is now Inner Mongolia alternated in control between Chinese agriculturalists in the south and Xiongnu, Xianbei, Khitan, Nurchen, and Mongol nomads of the north.
Under the Manchu Qing dynasty (1644-1912), Mongolia was administered in a different way for each region:
- "Outer Mongolia": The four leagues (aimag) of the Khalkha Mongols in northern and central Mongolia, as well as the Tannu Uriankhai and Hovd regions in northwestern Mongolia, were overseen by the General of Uliastay at the city of Uliastay. This is equivalent to the modern independent state of Mongolia, the Russian-administered region of Tannu Uriankhai, and a part of northern Xinjiang.
- "Inner Mongolia": The banners and tribes of southern Mongolia came under six leagues (chuulghan): Jirim, Juu Uda, Josutu, Xilingol, Ulaan Chab, and Yeke Juu. This is equivalent to most of modern Inner Mongolia and some neighbouring areas in Liaoning and Jilin provinces.
- "Taoxi Mongolia": The Alashan Oolud and Ejine Torghuud banners were separate from the aimags of Outer Mongolia and the chuulghans of Inner Mongolia. This is equivalent to the westernmost part of modern Inner Mongolia.
- The Chahar Eight Banners were controlled by the military commander of Chahar (now Zhangjiakou). Their extent corresponds to southern Ulaan Chab and Baynnur in modern Inner Mongolia, plus the region around Zhangjiakou in Hebei province. At the same time, the jurisdiction of some border departments of Zhili and Shanxi provinces also overlapped into this region.
- The Guihua Tümed banner was controlled by the military commander of Suiyuan (now Hohhot). This corresponds to the vinicities of the modern city of Hohhot. At the same time, the jurisdiction of some border departments of Shanxi province also overlapped into this region.
- The Hulunbuir region, in what is now northeastern Inner Mongolia, was part of the jurisdiction of the General of Heilongjiang, one of the three generals of Manchuria.
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 Russian support, passed out of Chinese control and became a Soviet satellite. At the same time, Inner Mongolia was reorganized into provinces:
- Rehe province was created to include the Juu Uda and Josutu leagues, plus the Chengde area in what is now northern Hebei.
- Chahar province was created to include Xilingol league as well as much of the former territory of the Eight Banners.
- Suiyuan province was created to include Ulaan Chab league, Yeke Juu league, and the Hetao region (former Guihua Tümed territory).
- Hulunbuir stayed within Heilongjiang in Manchuria, which had become a province.
- Most of Jirim league came under the new province of Fengtien in southern Manchuria.
- Taoxi Mongolia, i.e. Alashan and Ejine leagues, was incorporated into neighbouring Gansu province. Later on Ningxia province was split out of northern Gansu, and Taoxi Mongolia became part of Ningxia.
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 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, near Kalgan, with the puppet government's control extending around Hohhot. 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 took over most of Manchuria with 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 independence movements for Inner Mongolia active in the West; these view Han Chinese rule in Inner Mongolia as Chinese imperialism.
Geography
Most of Inner Mongolia consists of high plateaus. The Greater Khingan Mountains cover much of the eastern part, while the Yinshan Mountains and Langshan Mountains are found in the central regions. The Gobi Desert extends just north of the border with Mongolia. Other deserts include the Mu Us Desert and Hobq Desert, south of the bend in the Yellow River, and the Badain Jaran Desert in the west. The peak of Mount Helan, part of the Helan Mountains along the border with Ningxia, is the highest point in the region with an altitude of 3556 m.
Much of the eastern part of Inner Mongolia is part of the watersheds of the Amur and Liao Rivers; the central region is crossed by the Yellow River (Huang He), which turns north into Inner Mongolia, passes near major cities like Hohhot and Baotou, before flowing back south. The rest of the region is not part of any oceanic watershed.
In general, the climate of Inner Mongolia is continental, with long winters and sharp temperature changes in spring and fall. In recent years, Desertification has become a major environmental problem in Inner Mongolia.
Major cities:
Administrative divisions
Inner Mongolia is divided into 12 prefecture-level divisions, including 9 prefecture-level cities and 3 leagues.
The nine prefecture-level cities are:
- Hohhot (呼和浩特市 Hanyu Pinyin: Hūhéhàotè shì)
- Baotou (包头市 Bāotóu shì)
- Wuhai (乌海市 Wūhǎi shì)
- Chifeng (赤峰市 Chìfēng shì)
- Tongliao (通辽市 Tōngliáo shì)
- Ordos (鄂尔多斯市 È'ěrduōsī shì)
- Hulunbuir (呼伦贝尔市 Hūlúnbèi'ěr shì)
- Baynnur (巴彦淖尔市 Bāyànnào'ěr shì)
- Ulaan Chab (乌兰察布市 Wūlánchábù shì)
The three leagues are:
Many of the prefecture-level cities were converted very recently from leagues. See League (Inner Mongolia) for more information.
The 12 prefecture-level divisions of Inner Mongolia are subdivided into 101 county-level divisions, including 21 districts, 11 county-level cities, 17 counties, 49 banners, and 3 autonomous banners. Those are in turn divided into 1425 township-level divisions, including 532 towns, 407 townships, 277 sumu, 18 ethnic townships, 1 ethnic sumu, and 190 subdistricts.
See 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 goats, sheep and so on is a traditional method of subsistence. Forestry and hunting are somewhat important in the Daxingan (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 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 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 .
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 unique and 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.
Demographics
Han Chinese are the largest ethnic group, consistuting about 80% of the population. The modern Han Chinese migration had begun in early 18th century with encouragement from the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and continued into the 20th century. Han Chinese live mostly along the Yellow River 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. 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 Manchus, and the Koreans.
See List of Chinese ethnic groups.
Culture
The Mongols of Inner Mongolia speak Mongolian. The Daur, Evenks, and Oroqin speak their own respective languages.
Han Chinese of the eastern parts speak dialects of Mandarin, while those in the central parts, such as the Huang He valley, speak varieties of Jinyu, another subdivision of Chinese.
(Jinyu is sometimes classified as a subdivision of Mandarin. For more information, see Chinese spoken language.)
The Mongols of Inner Mongolia practice many traditional forms of art. See also: Culture of Mongolia, Music of Mongolia.
Among the Han Chinese of Inner Mongolia, Jinju or Shanxi Opera is a popular traditional form of entertainment. See also: Shanxi.
Siqin Gaowa, a famous actress of China, is an ethnic Mongol native to Inner Mongolia.
Tourism
In the capital city Hohhot:
Dazhao Temple is a Lamaist temple built in 1580. Dazhao Temple is known for three sites: a statue of Buddha made from silver, elaborate carvings of dragons, and murals.
Xiaozhao Temple, also known as Chongfu temple, is a Lamaist temple built in 1697 and favoured by the Qing Dynasty emperor Kangxi.
Xilituzhao Temple is the largest Lamaist temple in the Hohhot area, and once the center of power of Lamaism in the region.
Zhaojun Tomb is the tomb of Wang Zhaojun, a Han Dynasty palace woman and wife of a Hun ruler.
Elsewhere in Inner Mongolia:
The Mausoleum of Genghis Khan, the cenotaph of Genghis Khan, is located in Ordos City.
Bashang Grasslands, on the border close to Beijing, is a popular retreat for urban residents wanting to get a taste of grasslands life.
Miscellaneous topics
Colleges and universities
- Chifeng University (赤峰学院)
- Inner Mongolia Agricultural University (内蒙古农业大学)
- Inner Mongolia Finance and Economics College (内蒙古财经学院)
- Inner Mongolia Medical College (内蒙古医学院)
- Inner Mongolia Normal University (内蒙古师范大学)
- Inner Mongolia University (内蒙古大学)
- Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities (内蒙古民族大学)
- Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology (内蒙古科技大学)
- Inner Mongolia University of Technology (内蒙古工业大学)
All of the above are under the authority of the autonomous region government. Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.
External links
- Large map of Inner Mongolia
- Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center, NY, NY, USA
- Oyunbilig's Greater Mongolia page
