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Places in China: Inner Mongolia Province

The most northern of China's provinces, Inner Mongolia, is also one with the harshest weather. Being so far north, the summers are rather short and pleasantly warm with long and frigid winters. Most crops do not do well in such a climate although some wheat farming has succeeded in the province.

Much of the farming involves sheep and goats. Many of the Mongolian herdsmen are nomads, following the herds from one feeding area to another. The herdsmen live in temporary round tents called yurts. These are moved whenever the herds move onward.

The people of Inner Mongolia are seventy-nine percent Han Chinese and seventeen percent Mongols. There are several other ethnic groups, especially in the eastern portion of the province.

There are rivers and lakes in the province. However, the people are highly interested in other forms of energy, especially solar and wind energy sources. Coal and forestry are among the other major interests of the Inner Mongolian people.

The plains, scattered between several deserts and mountains in the province, provide the vegetation for the herdsmen to feed their goats and sheep. The province is quite large when compared to other provinces in the country. 1.2 million square kilometres of land area have been able to provide sufficient grass for the 22 million people and their herds.

The neighbours to the north of Inner Mongolia are Russia and the Republic of Mongolia. The Republic of Mongolia is not a part of China. In the distant past, the 12th and 13th centuries, Genghis Khan and his armies from the north invaded China and moved westward toward Europe.

Natural resources in the province are rich and numerous. The beauty of the land has been used by the government to lure tourists to the province to study Chinese folklore and to participate in some of the activities of the local people. Tourists often come during the summer months to enjoy two or three days living among the nomadic herdsmen, learning their ways.