Autonomous region · North China
Inner Mongolia
内蒙古
Grasslands, deserts and forests along China's northern frontier
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of northern China that stretches about 2,400 km along the borders with Mongolia and Russia, from the Greater Khingan forests in the north-east to the Alxa deserts in the west. Established in 1947 as China's first provincial-level autonomous region, it has its capital at Hohhot and is home to the largest Mongol population in China, while Han Chinese form the majority of its inhabitants.
Key facts
- Capital
- Hohhot
- Abbreviation
- 蒙 (Měng)
- Area
- about 1.183 million km²[1]
- Resident population
- 23.74 million(as of end of 2025)[2]
- Gross regional product
- CNY 2.67 trillion(as of 2025)[2]
- Census population
- 24.05 million(as of 2020 census)[3]
- Divisions
- 9 prefecture-level cities, 3 leagues[1]
- Autonomous region since
- 1 May 1947
- UNESCO World Heritage sites
- 1 (2012)[4]
Profile
- Chinese name
- 内蒙古
- Abbreviation (简称)
- 蒙
- Type
- Autonomous region
- Region
- North China
- Capital
- Hohhot
- Area
- about 1,183,000 km²
- Divisions
- 9 prefecture-level cities and 3 leagues (Hinggan, Xilingol, Alxa)
- Ethnic groups
- Han, Mongol, Manchu, Hui, Daur, Ewenki
- Languages
- Mongolian, Jin, Northeastern Mandarin, Daur, Ewenki and Oroqen
- Borders
- Mongolia, Russia
Languages
Mongolian
蒙古语
Spoken in several dialects, including Chahar, Khorchin and Baarin, and written in the traditional vertical Mongolian script, which is official in the region alongside Chinese.
Jin
晋语
The Chinese spoken in Hohhot, Baotou, Ordos and the Hetao, brought by migrants from Shanxi and northern Shaanxi.
Northeastern Mandarin
东北官话
The Chinese of the eastern leagues and cities, from Chifeng to Hulunbuir.
Daur, Ewenki and Oroqen
达斡尔语
Languages of small communities in the Greater Khingan and Hulunbuir, each with its own autonomous banner.
Name and abbreviation
The name Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) goes back to the Qing dynasty, which distinguished the Mongol leagues south of the Gobi, closer to Beijing and more directly administered, as “inner” from the Khalkha Mongols north of the desert, “outer” Mongolia, now the independent state of Mongolia. The Mongolian name is Öbür Mongγol, “southern” or “front” Mongolia. The abbreviation 蒙 is the first character of the Chinese transcription of “Mongol”. The region's administrative units still include leagues (盟) and banners (旗), inherited from the Qing organisation of the Mongols.
Historic names
漠南
“south of the desert”
Historical Chinese term for the Mongol lands south of the Gobi.
绥远
Province of the Republican period centred on Guisui (Hohhot), merged into Inner Mongolia in 1954.
察哈尔
Mongol tribe and Republican-era province in the central part of today's region and northern Hebei.
河套
“river loop”
The irrigated plain inside the great northern bend of the Yellow River.
Land and climate
Most of Inner Mongolia is part of the Mongolian Plateau, at about 1,000 to 1,500 m above sea level. The Greater Khingan range runs north–south in the east and carries China's largest forests; west of it lie the grasslands of Hulunbuir and Xilingol. In the centre the Yin Mountains separate the plateau from the Hetao plain in the Yellow River bend, and the Ordos Plateau lies south of the river. The west is dominated by desert — the Badain Jaran, Tengger and Ulan Buh — and by the Gobi towards Mongolia. Precipitation falls steadily from east to west.
Landforms
Greater Khingan Range
大兴安岭
Forested mountains of larch and birch along the eastern edge of the plateau, shared with Heilongjiang.
Yin Mountains
阴山
The east–west range north of Hohhot and Baotou, historically the frontier between farmers and herders.
Helan Mountains
贺兰山
The ridge along the border with Ningxia; its highest summit, about 3,556 m, is the highest point in the region.
Badain Jaran Desert
巴丹吉林沙漠
Desert in Alxa with some of the tallest stationary dunes on Earth and spring-fed lakes between them.
Hulunbuir grassland
呼伦贝尔草原
Rolling meadow steppe west of the Greater Khingan, among the best-preserved grasslands in China.
Ordos Plateau
鄂尔多斯高原
Dry upland south of the Yellow River bend, with the Kubuqi and Mu Us sandy lands.
Rivers and lakes
Yellow River
黄河
Flows north and then east around the Ordos Plateau in its great bend, irrigating the Hetao plain.
Argun River
额尔古纳河
Forms the border with Russia in the north-east and joins the Shilka to form the Amur.
Xar Moron River
西拉木伦河
Upper course of the Liao River, in the heartland of the Khitan.
Hulun Lake
呼伦湖
The largest lake in northern China, on the Hulunbuir grassland.
Ejin River
额济纳河
The lower Hei River, which ends in the desert of Alxa and supports poplar forests along its course.
Climate
Inner Mongolia has a continental climate with long, very cold winters and short, warm summers. Rain falls mainly in July and August and decreases from the forested east to the arid west. Spring is dry and windy, with dust storms in some years. The Greater Khingan area is among the coldest places in China. Summer, from June to August, is the season of the grasslands and of the Naadam festivals.
History
The region has been home to a succession of peoples who combined herding, farming and trade. The Neolithic Hongshan culture flourished around Chifeng; later, Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turkic peoples, Khitan, Jurchen, Tanguts and Mongols ruled parts of the plateau, while Chinese states built walls and garrisons along the Yin Mountains. The Khitan Liao had their Supreme Capital in the south-east, and Kublai Khan built Shangdu (Xanadu) as the summer capital of the Yuan. In the sixteenth century Altan Khan founded Hohhot and promoted Tibetan Buddhism among the Mongols. The southern Mongols came under the Manchu Qing from 1636 and were organised into leagues and banners; Han farmers settled the region in growing numbers from the eighteenth century. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was established on 1 May 1947, before the founding of the People's Republic, and took its present extent in 1979.
c. 4700–2900 BCE
Hongshan culture
A Neolithic culture of the Chifeng region known for jade carvings such as the C-shaped dragon, and for ceremonial sites in the Liao valley.
c. 300 BCE
Zhao and Qin frontier walls
King Wuling of Zhao built a wall along the Yin Mountains; Qin later linked the northern walls after unification.
33 BCE
Wang Zhaojun marries the Xiongnu chanyu
The Han court lady's marriage to Huhanye became a symbol of peace between the Han and the steppe; a tomb attributed to her stands near Hohhot.
443
Gaxian Cave inscription
An inscription left by the Northern Wei at the ancestral cave of the Tuoba Xianbei in the Greater Khingan was discovered in 1980.
918
Supreme Capital of the Liao
The Khitan ruler Abaoji founded his capital at Linhuang, in today's Bairin Left Banner.
1256
Shangdu (Xanadu) founded
Kublai Khan built the city that became the summer capital of the Yuan dynasty.
1581
Hohhot completed
Altan Khan of the Tümed built the walled town of Kökeqota, “blue city”, which the Ming called Guihua.
1636
Southern Mongols submit to the Qing
Mongol nobles recognised Hong Taiji as emperor; the Qing organised them into leagues and banners.
1 May 1947
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region established
Founded at Ulanhot under Ulanhu, it was the first autonomous region at provincial level in China.
1954
Suiyuan merged into Inner Mongolia
The former province was absorbed, and Guisui, where the regional government had moved in 1952, was renamed Hohhot.
1969–1979
Boundaries changed and restored
Parts of the region were placed under neighbouring provinces in 1969 and returned in 1979.
2012
Site of Xanadu inscribed
The ruins of Shangdu became the region's first UNESCO World Heritage site.
World heritage
World Heritage sites
Cultural · inscribed 2012
元上都遗址
The ruins of Kublai Khan's summer capital on the grassland of Zhenglan Banner, planned according to Chinese principles and surrounded by Mongol-style campsites.
Intangible cultural heritage (UNESCO lists)
Inscribed 2005
Urtiin Duu, traditional folk long song
蒙古族长调民歌
Proclaimed jointly with Mongolia: slow, highly ornamented songs of herders, with long melismatic notes; included in the Representative List in 2008.
Inscribed 2009
Mongolian art of singing: Khoomei
蒙古族呼麦
Throat singing in which one performer produces a drone and a whistling overtone melody at the same time.
Culture
Inner Mongolia's culture brings together the traditions of the Mongol herders — the ger, horsemanship, long song and the horse-head fiddle — those of the Han farming villages of the Hetao and the south, many settled by migrants from Shanxi, and the forest cultures of the Ewenki, Oroqen and Daur in the north-east. Tibetan Buddhist monasteries are found throughout the region. Hospitality is expressed by the offering of a hada scarf, milk tea and spirits to guests.
敕勒川，阴山下。天似穹庐，笼盖四野。天苍苍，野茫茫，风吹草低见牛羊。Chìlè chuān, Yīn shān xià. Tiān sì qiónglú, lǒng gài sì yě. Tiān cāngcāng, yě mángmáng, fēng chuī cǎo dī xiàn niú yáng.
“The Chile plain beneath the Yin Mountains. The sky is like a felt tent covering the fields on every side. The sky is grey-blue, the plain is vast; the wind bends the grass and reveals the cattle and sheep.”
— “Song of the Chile” (敕勒歌), folk song of the Northern dynasties, 6th century
Opera, music and dance
Long song
长调
Slow, free-rhythm songs of the grassland about horses, landscape and home.
Horse-head fiddle
马头琴
The two-stringed bowed instrument of the Mongols, its scroll carved as a horse's head.
Errentai
二人台
Folk theatre for two performers, sung and danced, from the Han communities of western Inner Mongolia and northern Shanxi.
Andai dance
安代舞
A Mongol group dance of the Horqin region, performed with swirling scarves.
Crafts
Ger (yurt)
蒙古包
The round felt tent on a collapsible lattice frame, still used by some herders in summer pastures.
Mongol silverwork
蒙古族银器
Silver bowls, knives, saddle fittings and jewellery with coral and turquoise.
Birch-bark crafts
桦树皮制品
Containers and boxes of birch bark made by the Oroqen and Ewenki of the Greater Khingan.
Festivals and customs
Naadam
那达慕
Summer festival of the “three manly games” — wrestling, horse racing and archery — held at banner and league level.
Ovoo worship
祭敖包
Offerings at stone cairns on hilltops and passes, with prayers for rain and good pasture.
Presenting the hada
献哈达
A blue or white silk scarf offered to guests as a sign of respect.
Cuisine
The Mongol diet is built on the “white foods” (dairy) and “red foods” (meat) of the herding economy: milk tea, curds, dried cheese and butter, and mutton, beef and, formerly, horse. Meat is often simply boiled and eaten by hand. The Han communities of the Hetao and the west eat oat and potato dishes like those of Shanxi, and Hohhot is known for its mutton shaomai.
Signature dishes
Hand-held mutton
手把肉
Mutton on the bone boiled in salted water and cut with a knife at the table.
Whole roast lamb
烤全羊
A banquet dish for honoured guests, presented with ceremony.
Mongol milk tea
奶茶
Brick tea boiled with milk and salt, often with roasted millet, butter or dried meat added.
Milk curd
奶豆腐
Pressed fresh or dried curd cheese made from cow's milk.
Hohhot shaomai
烧麦
Open-topped dumplings filled with mutton and ginger, traditionally eaten with tea in the morning.
Roasted millet
炒米
Toasted broomcorn millet, eaten in milk tea or with butter and sugar.
Specialities
Cashmere
羊绒
The undercoat of the goats of Alxa and Ordos; Ordos is one of the world's main centres of cashmere processing.
Dairy products
乳制品
Two of China's largest dairy companies, Yili and Mengniu, are based in Hohhot.
Xilingol mutton
锡林郭勒羊肉
Mutton from sheep raised on the Xilingol grassland.
Desert cistanche
肉苁蓉
A parasitic desert plant of Alxa used in traditional medicine.
Notable people
Wang Zhaojun (1st century BCE)
王昭君
Han palace lady married to the Xiongnu ruler Huhanye in 33 BCE, one of the Four Beauties of Chinese tradition.
Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227)
成吉思汗
Founder of the Mongol Empire; the Mausoleum of Genghis Khan in Ordos, a shrine tended by the Darhad Mongols, is the centre of his commemoration in China.
Kublai Khan (1215–1294)
忽必烈
Grandson of Genghis Khan and founder of the Yuan dynasty, who built Shangdu.
Altan Khan (1507–1582)
俺答汗
Ruler of the Tümed Mongols who founded Hohhot, made peace with the Ming and gave the title Dalai Lama to Sonam Gyatso in 1578.
Ulanhu (1906–1988)
乌兰夫
Tümed Mongol from near Hohhot and first chairman of the autonomous region; later Vice-President of the People's Republic.
Economy
Inner Mongolia is one of China's main energy bases. Since the 2010s it has been one of the two largest coal-producing provinces, together with Shanxi, and has become a leading region for wind and solar power, much of it transmitted to eastern China. Baotou's Bayan Obo deposit is the world's largest known source of rare-earth elements. Other pillars are steel, aluminium, chemicals, dairy, cashmere and livestock. Border crossings to Mongolia and Russia, notably Erenhot and Manzhouli, make the region a land bridge for trade with both countries.
Main industries
- Coal mining and coal chemicals
- Electricity from coal, wind and solar
- Rare earths (Baotou, Bayan Obo)
- Iron and steel, aluminium
- Dairy and meat processing
- Cashmere and wool textiles
- Livestock and grain farming
Zones, ports and hubs
Manzhouli port of entry
满洲里口岸
The principal land crossing between China and Russia, on the railway to the Trans-Siberian line; also a national key development and opening pilot zone.
Erenhot port of entry
二连浩特口岸
The main road and rail crossing to Mongolia, on the railway to Ulaanbaatar.
Baotou Rare Earth High-Tech Zone
包头稀土高新技术产业开发区
National high-technology zone for rare-earth processing and materials.
Cities
- Hohhot呼和浩特Capital · Historic city · Cultural centreThe Blue City of Altan Khan beneath the Yin Mountains
- Baotou包头Industrial centre · Historic citySteel and rare-earth city on the Yellow River
- Ordos鄂尔多斯Industrial centre · Historic city · Scenic areaPlateau of the Yellow River bend, the Genghis Khan shrine and coal
- Hulunbuir呼伦贝尔Scenic area · Border cityGrassland, lakes and forest on the borders with Russia and Mongolia
- Chifeng赤峰Historic city · Scenic areaHongshan jades and the capitals of the Khitan Liao
Getting there
- Hohhot Baita International Airport is the main airport; Baotou, Ordos, Hailar, Manzhouli, Chifeng, Xilinhot and other cities have their own airports, which matter in a region of this size.
- The Beijing–Zhangjiakou–Hohhot high-speed railway links the capital with Beijing; conventional railways connect Hohhot with Baotou, Ordos and Yinchuan, and eastern cities such as Chifeng and Tongliao with the north-east.
- International trains run from Erenhot to Ulaanbaatar and from Manzhouli into Russia.
Entry rules for foreign visitors are on the visa and entry pages.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People's Government — Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- 内蒙古自治区2025年国民经济和社会发展统计公报 (Statistical Communiqué of Inner Mongolia on the 2025 National Economic and Social Development) — Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Bureau of Statistics (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Site of Xanadu — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Intangible Cultural Heritage: China — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Inner Mongolia — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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