Name	Ordos
Official name	鄂尔多斯市
Native name
Settlement type	Prefecture-level city
Total type
Motto
Map caption	Ordos City (red) in Inner Mongolia (orange) and China
Dot x	|dot_y
Pushpin map	China Inner Mongolia
Pushpin label position	left
Pushpin map caption	Location in Inner Mongolia
Pushpin mapsize	200
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	People's Republic of China
Subdivision type1	Region
Subdivision name1	Inner Mongolia
Seat type	City seat
Seat	Dongsheng District
Parts style
Parts
P2
Leader title
Leader title1
Established title
Established title1
Established title2
Named for
Area magnitude
Unit pref
Area total km2	87000
Area land km2
Area blank1 km2
Elevation footnotes
Elevation m	1305
Elevation max m	2149
Elevation min m	850
Population as of	2009
Population total	1548000
Population density km2	auto
Population density blank1 km2
Timezone	China Standard
Utc offset	+8
Coordinates display	inline,title
Coordinates region	CN-15
Postal code type
Blank name	GDP
Blank info	CNY 115.90 billion ($US 16.85 billion)
Blank1 name	GDP per capita
Blank1 info	CNY 75,161 ($US 10,885)
Blank2 name
Blank4 name
Blank5 name
Website	http://www.ordos.gov.cn/
Footnotes	}}

Ordos Shi or Ordos City (, ''Ordos''; ) is one of the twelve major subdivisions of Inner Mongolia, China. It is located within the Ordos Loop of the Yellow River. It is officially a prefecture-level city (地级市 ''dìjíshì''), but the ''shì'' (for "city") here specifies the city's urban area as well as its other administrative divisions. The seat of government is at Dongsheng District. Ordos City proper is a new town being built in the west-center of the region south of Baotou. The Ordos City was founded on 26 February 2001 on the basis of the former Yekhe Juu league (), a name used for the area since the 17th Century. "Ordos" means "palaces" in the Mongolian language; the name is sometimes claimed to be related to the eight white yurts of Genghis Khan. Linguistically, the Ordos dialect of Mongolian is quite different from neighboring Chakhar. Ordos is known for its lavish government projects, including the new Ordos City, a city of exquisite buildings and abundant infrastructure seldom used by residents.

Geography and climate

Ordos's prefectural administrative region occupies and covers the bigger part of the Ordos Desert, although the urban area itself is relatively small. The region borders the prefectures of Hohhot to the east, Baotou to the northeast, Bayan Nur to the north, Alxa League to the northwest, Wuhai to the west, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to its southwest, and the provinces of Shaanxi and Shanxi to the south.

The area of Ordos Shi can roughly be divided into a hilly area in the east, high plateaus in the west and center, sandy deserts in the north and south, and plains at the southern bank of the Yellow river. The highest elevation, at , is located in the west, the lowest point, at , is in the east.

There are two large deserts within the territory of Ordos Shi, namely the Kubuqi Desert (库布其沙漠) in the north, and the Maowusu Desert (毛乌素沙漠) in the south. The Kubuqi Desert occupies 19.2% of Ordos, or , while the Maowusu Desert takes up 28.8% of the area, or .

Ordos features a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen ''BSk''), marked by long, cold and very dry winters, very warm, somewhat humid summers, and strong winds, especially in spring. The annual precipitation is in the eastern part of the prefecture, and in the western part. Most of the rain falls between July and September, with very little snow in winter.

Economy

Ordos is one of the richest regions of China. With a nominal per-capita GDP of US$14,500 in 2008, it is ranked ahead of the capital city of China, Beijing. It is extremely rich in natural resources, having one sixth of the coal reserve in China. The pillars of its economy are textile (wool), coal mining, petrochemicals, electricity generation and production of building materials.

Administrative Subdivisions

Ordos Shi is divided into one district and seven banners:

Map
! #	! Name	! Hanzi	! Hanyu Pinyin	! Population (2004 est.)	! Area (km²)	! Density (/km²)
1		东胜区	Dōngshèng Qū	230,000	2,137	108
2	Dalad Banner	达拉特旗	Dálātè Qí	330,000	8,192	40
3	Jungar Banner	准格尔旗	Zhǔngé'ěr Qí	270,000	7,535	36
4	Otog Front Banner	鄂托克前旗	Ètuōkè Qián Qí	70,000	12,318	6
5	Otog Banner	鄂托克旗	Ètuōkè Qí	90,000	20,064	4
6	Hanggin Banner	杭锦旗	Hángjǐn Qí	130,000	18,903	7
7	Uxin Banner	乌审旗	Wūshěn Qí	100,000	11,645	9
8	Ejin Horo Banner	伊金霍洛旗	Yījīnhuòluò Qí	140,000	5,958	23

Demographics

In the 2000 census, there were 1,369,766 inhabitants:

! ethnic group	! population	! share
	1,207,971	88.19%
Mongols	155,845	11.38%
Manchu	2,905	0.21%
	1,861	0.14%
Tibetans	1,023	0.07%

See also

Ordos culture

Ordos International Circuit

New South China Mall and Chenggong, examples of other underused developments

List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population

List of cities in the People's Republic of China by GDP per capita

References

External links

Official website

Category:Cities in Inner Mongolia Category:Articles containing Mongolian script text

da:Ordos (Indre Mongoliet) de:Ordos (Stadt) et:Ordos es:Ciudad de Ordos eu:Ordos Hiria fr:Ordos (Mongolie-Intérieure) ko:어얼둬쓰 시 mn:Ордос хот nl:Ordos (Binnen-Mongolië) ja:オルドス市 no:Ordos (Indre Mongolia) pl:Ordos (miasto) pt:Ordos ru:Ордос (городской округ) sh:Ordos (grad) sv:Ordos (stad) vi:Ordos (thành phố) war:Ordos zh:鄂尔多斯市

bgcolour	#6495ED
name	Ai Weiwei
birth date	May 18, 1957
birth place	Beijing, China
spouse	Lu Qing
nationality	Chinese
works	''Sunflower Seeds''
awards	}}

Title	Ai Weiwei
C	艾未未
P	Ài Wèiwèi
Showorder	stp
W	Ai4 Wei4wei4
Mi
Y	ngaai6 mei6 mei6 }}

Ai Weiwei (born 18 May 1957) is a Chinese artist and political activist, who is also active in architecture, curating, photography, film, and social and cultural criticism. Ai collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron as the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics. As a political activist, he has been highly and openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights. He has investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal following the collapse of so-called "tofu-skin schools" in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In 2011, following his arrest at Beijing airport on 3 April, he was held for over two months without any official charges being filed; officials alluded to their allegations of "economic crimes" (tax evasion).

Life and work

Ai Weiwei's father was Chinese poet Ai Qing, who was denounced during the Anti-Rightist Movement and in 1958 sent to a labour camp in Xinjiang with his wife, Gao Ying. Ai Weiwei was one year old at the time and lived in Shihezi for 16 years. In 1975 the family returned to Beijing. Ai Weiwei is married to artist Lu Qing.

In 1978, Ai enrolled in the Beijing Film Academy and attended school with Chinese directors Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou. In 1978, he was one of the founders of the early avant garde art group the "Stars", together with Ma Desheng, Wang Keping, Huang Rui, Li Shuang, Zhong Acheng and Qu Leilei. The group disbanded in 1983. Yet Ai Weiwei participated in regular Stars group shows, ''The Stars: Ten Years,'' 1989 (Hanart Gallery, Hong-Hong and Taipei), and a retrospective exhibition in Beijing in 2007:''Origin Point'' (Today Art Museum, Beijing).

From 1981 to 1993, he lived in the United States, mostly in New York, creating conceptual art by altering readymade objects. He studied at Parsons School of Design. At the same time, Ai became fascinated by blackjack card games and frequented Atlantic City casinos. He is still regarded in gambling circles as a top tier professional blackjack player.

In 1993, Ai returned to China after his father became ill. He helped establish the experimental artists' Beijing East Village and published a series of three books about this new generation of artists: ''Black Cover Book'' (1994), ''White Cover Book'' (1995), and ''Gray Cover Book'' (1997).

Ai Weiwei is its Artistic Director of ''China Art Archives & Warehouse'' (CAAW), which he co-founded in 1997. This contemporary art archive and experimental gallery in Beijing concentrated on experimental art from the People's Republic of China, initiates and facilitates exhibitions and other forms of introductions inside and outside China. The building which houses it is designed by Ai.

In 1999, Ai moved to Caochangdi, in the northeast of Beijing, and built a studio house – his first architectural project. Due to his interest in architecture, he founded the architecture studio FAKE Design, in 2003. In 2000, he co-curated the art exhibition ''Fuck Off'' with curator Feng Boyi in Shanghai, China.

Ai and HHF Architects designed a private residence in upstate New York in 2006, which to date remains Ai's only residential architecture project in the United States. According to the ''New York Times'', the residence is divided into four modules and the details are "extraordinarily refined". In 2009, the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design selected the home for its International Architecture Awards, one the world's most prestigious global awards for new architecture, landscape architecture, interiors and urban planning. In 2010, ''Wallpaper'' magazine nominated the residence for its Wallpaper Design Awards category: Best New Private House.

On 15 March 2010, Ai took part in ''Digital Activism in China'', a discussion hosted by The Paley Media Center in New York with Jack Dorsey (founder of Twitter) and Richard MacManus.

Exhibitions

Ai's artwork has been exhibited in Australasia, Europe, North and South America. Solo exhibitions include Stiftung DKM, Duisburg (2010); Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland (2010); Arcadia University Gallery, Glenside (2010); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2009); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2009); Three Shadows Photography Art Center, Beijing (2009); Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, Cambelltown Arts Center, Sydney (2008); Groninger Museum, Groningen (2008).

Ai Weiwei’s work was included in the ''48th Venice Biennale'' in Italy (1999), ''1st Guangzhou Triennale'' in China (2002), ''1st Monpellier Biennial of Chinese Contemporary Art'' in France (2005), ''The 2nd Guangzhou Triennial'' (2005), ''Busan Biennial'' in Korea (2006), ''The 5th Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art'' in Australia (2006), ''Documenta 12'' in Germany (2007), ''Liverpool Biennial International 08'' in the United Kingdom (2008), ''2010 Venice Architecture Biennale'' and the ''29th Sao Paulo Biennial'' in Brazil (2010).

''Fairytale'' is the title of Ai Weiwei's contribution for Documenta 12 in 2007. For this project Ai Weiwei brought 1001 people from all over China to a small town in Germany called Kassel. They were chosen through an open invitation he posted on his blog. Ai even designed clothes, luggage and a temporary home in an old textile factory. He let them wander around the city during the exhibition time of three months. The participants were divided into five groups that each stayed in Kassel for eight days. According to Philip Tinari the primary design object here is not the clothing or suitcases but the participants' experiences, even their spirits. During the exhibition his monumental outdoor sculpture titled ''Template'', made of wooden doors and windows from destroyed Ming and Qing Dynasty houses (1368–1911), collapsed after a storm. In 2008 he curated the architecture project ''Ordos 100'' in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia. He invited 100 architects from all over the world (29 countries) to participate in this project.

Ai curated the exhibition ''The State of Things'', together with Belgian artist Luc Tuymans. It was shown at the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels from 18 October 2009 to 10 January 2010 and at the National Art Museum in Beijing from 1–30 May 2010. From October 2009 to January 2010 Ai Weiwei exhibited ''So Sorry'' at Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany. This solo exhibition showed Ai Weiwei’s largest retrospective to date. The title refers to the thousands of apologies expressed recently by governments, industries, and financial corporations worldwide in an effort to make up for tragedies and wrongdoings – though often withhout shouldering the consequences or the desire to acknowledge let alone repair. Saying sorry – or not saying it – is in the headlines everywhere and thus also in China. For this show Ai Weiwei created the installation ''Remembering'' on Haus der Kunst's façade. It was made out of 9000 children's backpacks. They spell out the sentence 'She lived happily for seven years in this world' in Chinese characters. This is a quote from a mother whose child died in the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. Ai Weiwei said: "The idea to use backpacks came from my visit to Sichuan after the earthquake in May 2008. During the earthquake many schools collapsed. Thousands of young students lost their lives, and you could see bags and study material everywhere. Then you realize individual life, media, and the lives of the students are serving very different purposes. The lives of the students disappeared within the state propaganda, and very soon everybody will forget everything."

On 25 July 2009 Ai Weiwei opened his solo show ''According to What?'' at Tokyo's Mori Art Museum, Japan. This exhibition presented 26 works, most made over the past decade.

In December 2009, Ai Weiwei had a small exhibition at the Comme des Garcons store in Hong Kong.

In February 2010, ''Ai Weiwei: Dropping the Urn'', the first exhibition by Ai Weiwei to travel outside New York City in the United States, opened at Arcadia University Art Gallery. The exhibition traveled to the Museum of Contemporary Craft in 2010, and the Knoxville Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in 2011.

From March to September 2010, Ai exhibited ''Barely Something'', an exhibition curated by Roger M. Buergel, the director of Documenta12, at the Museum DKM in Duisburg, Germany.

In October 2010, ''Sunflower Seeds'' was installed at the Tate Modern Turbine Hall, London. The work consists of one hundred million porcelain "seeds," each individually hand-painted in the town of Jingdezhen by 1,600 Chinese artisans, and scattered over a large area of the exhibition hall. The artist was keen for visitors to walk across and roll in the work to experience and contemplate the essence of his comment on mass consumption, Chinese industry, famine and collective work. However, on 16 October, Tate Modern stopped people from walking on the exhibit due to health liability concerns over the porcelain dust. In February 2011, a pile from ''Sunflower Seeds'' sold for 559,394 (well above its high estimate of 195,000) at Sotheby's in London.

Despite the artist's absence, ''Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads'' opened on 4 May 2011, at the Pulitzer Fountain outside the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The heads were also on display at Somerset House in London from 12 May – 26 June 2011. The heads copy 18th century heads in the gardens of the Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan, near Beijing. They were ransacked by British and French troops during the Second Opium War of 1860, some of them resurfacing in 2000. A Guggenheim curator read Ai's words, "Without freedom of speech there is no modern world, just a barbaric one."

Ai's work is included in numerous public collections, among others the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. On 20 April 2011, Ai was appointed Visiting Professor of the Berlin University of the Arts.

For the first time outside of China, his photographs of his time in New York City from 1983 to 1993 are featured in an exhibition presented by Asia Society. The exhibition opening on 29 June coincided shortly after his prison release on 24 June. It showcases 227 photos. The exhibition lasts until 14 August 2011

Awards

In March 2010 Ai Weiwei received an ''Honorary Doctorate Degree'' from the Faculty of Politics and Social Science, University of Gent, Belgium.

In September 2010 he received ''Das Glas der Vernunft'' (The Prism of Reason), Kassel Citizen Award, Kassel, Germany.

Ai Weiwei was ranked 13 in ArtReview's guide to the 100 most powerful figures in contemporary art: ''Power 100'', 2010.

Beijing National Stadium

Ai was commissioned as the artistic consultant for design, collaborating with the Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron, for the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics, also known as the "Bird's Nest." Although ignored by the Chinese media, he had voiced his anti-Olympics views. He later distanced himself from the project, saying, "I've already forgotten about it. I turn down all the demands to have photographs with it," saying it is part of a "pretend smile" of bad taste. In August 2007 he also accused those choreographing the Olympic opening ceremony, including Steven Spielberg and Zhang Yimou, of failing to live up to their responsibility as artists. Ai said "It's disgusting. I don't like anyone who shamelessly abuses their profession, who makes no moral judgment." In February 2008, Spielberg withdrew from his role as advisor to the 2008 Summer Olympics. When asked why he participated in the designing of the Bird's Nest in the first place, Ai replied "I did it because I love design."

Sichuan earthquake student casualties investigation

On 15 December 2008, Ai Weiwei supported an investigation into student casualties in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake started by another Chinese artist. The investigation aimed to compile a list of students killed in the earthquake by 12 May 2009, the earthquake's first anniversary. As of 14 April 2009, the list had accumulated 5,385 names. Ai published the collected names as well as numerous articles documenting the investigation on his blog which was shut down by Chinese authorities in May 2009. He also posted his list of names of schoolchildren who died on the wall of his office at FAKE Design in Beijing

Ai Weiwei suffered headaches and claimed he had difficulty concentrating on his work since returning from Chengdu in August 2009, where he was beaten by the police for trying to testify for Tan Zuoren, a fellow investigator of the shoddy construction and student casualties in the earthquake.

On 14 September 2009, Ai was diagnosed to be suffering internal bleeding in a hospital in Munich, Germany, and the doctor arranged for emergency brain surgery. The cerebral hemorrhage is believed to be linked to the police attack.

According to the ''Financial Times'', in an attempt to force Ai to leave the country, two accounts used by him had been hacked in a sophisticated attack on Google in China dubbed Operation Aurora, their contents read and copied; his bank accounts were investigated by state security agents who claimed he was under investigation for "unspecified suspected crimes".

Shanghai studio controversy

In November 2010, Ai was placed under house arrest by the Chinese police. He said this was to prevent the planned party marking the demolition of his newly built Shanghai studio.

The building was designed and built by Ai upon encouragement and persuasion from a "high official [from Shanghai]" as part of a new cultural area designated by Shanghai Municipal authorities; Ai would have used it as a studio and to teach architecture courses. But now Ai has been accused of erecting the structure without the necessary planning permission and a demolition notice has been ordered, even though, Ai said, officials had been extremely enthusiastic, and the entire application and planning process was "under government supervision". According to Ai, a number of artists were invited to build new studios in this area of Shanghai because officials wanted to create a cultural area.

On 3 November 2010 Ai said the government had informed him two months earlier that the newly completed studio would be knocked down because it was illegal. Ai complained that this was unfair, as he was "the only one singled out to have my studio destroyed." ''The Guardian'' reported Ai saying Shanghai municipal authorities were 'frustrated' by documentaries on subjects they considered sensitive: two of the better known ones featured Shanghai resident Feng Zhenghu, who lived in forced exile for three months in Narita Airport, Tokyo; another well known documentary focused on Yang Jia, who murdered six Shanghai police officers.

In the end, the party took place without Weiwei's presence; his supporters feasted on river crab, an allusion to "harmony", and a euphemism used to jeer official censorship. Ai was released from house arrest the next day.

Like other activists and intellectuals, Ai was prevented from leaving China in late 2010. Ai suggested that the authorities wanted to prevent him from attending the ceremony in December 2010 to award the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize to fellow dissident Liu Xiaobo. Ai said that he had not been invited to the ceremony, and was attempting to travel to South Korea for a meeting when he was told that he could not leave for reasons of national security.

In the evening of 11 January 2011, Ai's studio was demolished in a surprise move by the local government.

2011 arrest

''South China Morning Post'' reports that Ai received at least two visits from the police, the last being on 31 March – three days before his detention – apparently with offers of membership to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. A staff member recalled that Ai had mentioned receiving the offer earlier, "[but Ai] didn't say if it was a membership of the CPPCC at the municipal or national level, how he responded or whether he accepted it or not."

On 24 February, amid an online campaign for Middle East-style protests in major Chinese cities by overseas dissidents, Ai posted on his Twitter account: "I didn’t care about jasmine at first, but people who are scared by jasmine sent out information about how harmful jasmine is often, which makes me realize that jasmine is what scares them the most. What a jasmine!"

thumb|The caption(草泥马挡中央, "grass mud horse covering the middle") to Ai's self-portrait sounds almost the same in Chinese as 肏你妈党中央, "Fuck your mother, the [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of China|Communist party central committee".]] On 3 April, Ai was arrested just before catching a flight to Hong Kong and his studio facilities were searched. A police contingent of approximately 50 officers came to his studio, threw a cordon around it and searched the premises. They took away laptops and the hard drive from the main computer; along with Ai, police also detained eight staff members and Ai's wife, Lu Qing. Police also visited the mother of Ai's two year-old son. While state media originally reported on 6 April that Ai was arrested at the airport because "his departure procedures were incomplete," the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on 7 April that Ai was arrested under investigation for alleged economic crimes. Then, on 8 April, police returned to Ai's workshop to examine his financial affairs. On 9 April, Ai's accountant, as well as studio partner Liu Zhenggang and driver Zhang Jingsong, disappeared, while Ai's assistant Wen Tao has remained missing since Ai's arrest on 3 April. Ai's wife said that she was summoned by the Beijing Chaoyang district tax bureau, where she was interrogated about his studio's tax on 12 April.

Response to Ai's arrest

Analysts and other activists said Ai had been widely thought to be untouchable, but Nicholas Bequelin from Human Rights Watch suggested that his arrest, calculated to send the message that no one would be immune, must have had the approval of someone in the top leadership. International governments, human rights groups and art institutions, among others, have called for Ai's release, while Chinese officials have yet to notify Ai's family of his whereabouts.

State media started describing Wei as a 'deviant and a plagiarist' in early 2011. The ''China Daily'' subsidiary, the ''Global Times'' editorial on 6 April 2011 attacked Wei, saying "Ai Weiwei likes to do something 'others dare not do.' He has been close to the red line of Chinese law. Objectively speaking, Chinese society does not have much experience in dealing with such persons. However, as long as Ai Weiwei continuously marches forward, he will inevitably touch the red line one day." Two days later, the journal scorned Western media for questioning Ai's charge as a "catch-all crime", and denounced the use of his political activism as a "legal shield" against everyday crimes. It said "Ai's detention is one of the many judicial cases handled in China every day. It is pure fantasy to conclude that Ai's case will be handled specially and unfairly." Frank Ching expressed in the ''South China Morning Post'' that how the Global Times could radically shift its position from one day to the next was reminiscent of ''Alice in Wonderland''. Michael Sheridan of ''The Times'' suggested that Ai had offered himself to the authorities on a platter with some of his provocative art, particularly photographs of himself nude with only a toy alpaca hiding his modesty – with a caption『草泥马挡中央』 ("grass mud horse covering the middle"). The term possesses of a double meaning in Chinese: one possible interpretation was given by Sheridan as: "Fuck your mother, the party central committee".

''Ming Pao'' in Hong Kong reacted strongly to the state media's character attack on Ai, saying that authorities had employed “a chain of actions outside the law, doing further damage to an already weak system of laws, and to the overall image of the country.” Pro-Beijing newspaper in Hong Kong, ''Wen Wei Po'', announced that Ai was under arrest for tax evasion, bigamy and spreading indecent images on the internet, and vilified him with multiple instances of strong rhetoric. Supporters said "the article should be seen as a mainland media commentary attacking Ai, rather than as an accurate account of the investigation."

The United States and European Union protested Ai's detention. The international arts community also mobilised petitions calling for the release of Ai: "1001 Chairs for Ai Weiwei" was organized by Creative Time of New York that calls for artists to bring chairs to Chinese embassies and consulates around the world on 17 April 2011, at 1 pm local time "to sit peacefully in support of the artist's immediate release." Artists in Hong Kong, Germany and Taiwan demonstrated and called on Ai to be released.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the International Council of Museums, which organised petitions, said they had collected more than 90,000 signatures calling for the release of Ai Weiwei. On 13 April 2011, a group of European intellectuals led by Václav Havel had issued an open letter to Wen Jiabao, condemning the arrest and demanding the immediate release of Ai Weiwei. The signatories include Ivan Klíma, Jiří Gruša, Jáchym Topol, Elfriede Jelinek, Adam Michnik, Adam Zagajewski, Helmuth Frauendorfer; Bei Ling (Chinese:贝岭), a Chinese poet in exile drafted and also signed the open letter.

On 16 May 2011, the Chinese authorities allowed his wife to visit him briefly. Liu Xiaoyuan, his attorney and personal friend, reported that Wei was in good physical condition and receiving treatment for his chronic diabetes and hypertension; he was not in a prison or hospital but under some form of house arrest.

Release

On 22 June 2011, the Chinese authorities released Ai Weiwei on bail after close to three months' detention on charges of tax evasion . Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd., a company Ai controlled, had allegedly evaded taxes and intentionally destroyed accounting documents. State media also reports that Ai Weiwei was granted bail takes on account of Ai's "good attitude in confessing his crimes", willingness to pay back taxes, and his chronic illnesses. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, he is prohibited from leaving Beijing without permission for one year.

Ai's supporters widely viewed his detention as retaliation for his vocal criticism of the government. On 23 June 2011, professor Wang Yujin of China University of Political Science and Law stated that the release of Ai Weiwei on bail shows that the Chinese government could not find any solid evidence of Ai's alleged "economic crime".

On 24 June 2011, Ai told a Radio Free Asia reporter that he was thankful for the support of the Hong Kong public, and praised Hong Kong's conscience society. Ai also mentioned that his detention by the Chinese regime was hellish (Chinese: 九死一生), and stressed that he is forbidden to say too much to reporters.

After his release, his sister gave some details about his detention condition to the press, explaining that he was subjected to a kind of psychological torture: he was detained in a tiny room with constant light, and two guards were set very close to him at all times, and watched him constantly.

Unpaid taxes and fines

In June 2011, the Beijing Local Taxation Bureau demanded a total of over 12 million yuan (US $1.85 million) from Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd in unpaid taxes and fines, and accorded three days to appeal the demand in writing. According to Ai's wife, Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd has hired two Beijing lawyers as defense attorneys. Ai's family state that Ai is neither the chief executive nor the legal representative of the design company, which is registered in his wife’s name." Lawyer-friend Liu Xioyuan has initiated an internet donation campaign to help Ai to pay the unpaid taxes.

See also

83598 Aiweiwei – Asteroid named after Ai Weiwei

References

Further reading

External links

Ai Weiwei's official site

Ai Weiwei's Photo Albums on Google+

Ai Weiwei's Profile on Google+

News about Ai Weiwei on China Digital Times

Ai Weiwei interview in ''New Statesman'' by John Sunyer , 12 October 2010.

Man in the News: Ai Weiwei in ''Financial Times'' by Jamil Anderlini and David Pilling, 12 November 2010.

Teehaus 2009

Ai Weiwei speaks at TED2011 via video including candid comments on his treatment by authorities

艾未未看香港：年輕一代在變　關心中國政治

"Ai Weiwei is a Creative Artist" by Li Xianting 栗宪庭 and Chang Yihe 章诒和 Chinese original text followed by full English translation on Gaodawei Blog

Translations of Ai Weiwei on Chinese society, art and politics from the Chinese blog Love Ai Weiwei, translations follow Chinese text, revised translations on Gaodawei Blog

Ai Weiwei: Art / Architecture im Kunsthaus Bregenz Video: Exhibition and interview with Director Yilmaz Dziewior.

"The City: Beijing; Ai Weiwei finds China’s capital is a prison where people go mad", August 28, 2011.

Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:Contemporary artists Category:Chinese architects Category:Chinese artists Category:Beijing Film Academy alumni Category:Parsons School of Design alumni Category:Chinese dissidents Category:Chinese Netizen Category:Chinese democracy activists Category:Charter 08 signatories Category:People from Beijing Category:Prisoners and detainees of the People's Republic of China Category:Ai Weiwei Category:Weiquan movement

bcl:Ai Weiwei ca:Ai Weiwei cs:Aj Wej-wej de:Ai Weiwei es:Ai Weiwei fr:Ai Weiwei ko:아이웨이웨이 io:Ai Weiwei it:Ai Weiwei he:איי וייוויי lv:Ai Veivei lb:Ai Weiwei nl:Ai Weiwei ja:艾未未 no:Ai Weiwei pl:Ai Weiwei pt:Ai Weiwei ro:Ai Weiwei ru:Ай Вэйвэй fi:Ai Weiwei sv:Ai Weiwei ta:ஐ வெய்வே th:ไอ้ เว่ยเว่ย vi:Ngải Vị Vị zh-yue:艾未未 zh:艾未未

chinesename	内蒙古自治区
pinyin	Nèi Měnggǔ Zìzhìqū
englishname	Inner Mongolia Autonomous RegionNei Mongol Autonomous Region
localname	140px,
localtranscription1	Öbür mongγol-un öbertegen zasaqu orun
locallanguage1	Mongolian
locallanguage2	Mongolian
designatedminority	Mongolian
abbreviation	内蒙 or 内蒙古
abbrevpinyin	Nèi Měng or Nèi Měnggǔ
isoabbrev	15
map	China Inner Mongolia.svg
maplabel	Inner Mongolia is highlighted on this map. The striped area is nominally part of Inner Mongolia, but is in fact administered by neighbouring Heilongjiang province.
originofname	From the Mongolian ''öbür mongγol'', where ''öbör'' can mean south, inner, breast.
administrationtype	Autonomous region
capital	Hohhot
largestcity	Baotou
secretary	Hu Chunhua
governor	Bagatur
area km2	1183000
arearank	3rd
latitude	37° 24' to 53° 20' N
longitude	097° 05' to 126° 05' E
languages	Mandarin Chinese, Mongolian
popyear	2010
pop	24,706,321
poprank	23rd
popdensity km2	20.2
popdensityrank	28th
gdpyear	2010
gdp	1.17 trillion (US$172.1 billion)
gdprank	15th
gdppercapita	37,287
gdppercapitarank	7th
hdiyear	2008
hdi	0.803
hdirank	13th
hdicat	high
nationalities	Han - 79%Mongol - 17% Manchu - 2%Hui - 0.9%Daur - 0.3%
prefectures	12
counties	101
currency	Chinese yuan
townships	1425
website	http://www.nmg.gov.cn(Simplified Chinese) }}

Inner Mongolia (Mongolian script: 35px, ''Öbür mong'ol''; Cyrillic: Өвөр Монгол; |p=Nèi Měnggǔ}}; officially romanized to Nei Mongol) is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation. Its capital is Hohhot and the largest city is Baotou.

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was established in 1947 on the area of former Republic of China provinces of Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaopeh and Hsingan. It is the third-largest subdivision of China spanning about 1,200,000 km² (463,000 sq mi) or 12% of China's total land area. It has a population of about 24 million as of 2004. The majority of the population in the region are Han Chinese, with a substantial Mongol minority. The official languages are Chinese and Mongolian, the latter written in the classical alphabet, as opposed to the Cyrillic used in Mongolia (former Outer Mongolia).

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. In Mongolian, the region is known as ''öbür mongγol'' where ''öbör'' can mean south, inner, front, bosom, breast. Some Mongolians use the name "Southern Mongolia" in English as well.

History

Throughout most of history and time, central and western Inner Mongolia, especially the Hetao region, alternated in control between Chinese agriculturalists in the south and Xiongnu, Xianbei , Khitan, Jurchen, Tujue, and Mongol nomads of the north. Eastern Inner Mongolia is properly speaking a part of Manchuria , and its historical narrative consists more of alternations between different groups there rather than the struggle between nomads and Chinese agriculturalists.

During the Zhou Dynasty, central and western Inner Mongolia (the Hetao region and surrounding areas) were inhabited by nomadic peoples such as the Loufan, Linhu, and Dí, while eastern Inner Mongolia was inhabited by the Donghu. During the Warring States Period, King Wuling (340–295 BC) of the state of Zhao based in what is now Hebei and Shanxi provinces pursued an expansionist policy towards the region. After destroying the Dí state of Zhongshan in what is now Hebei province, he defeated the Linhu and Loufan and created the commandery of Yunzhong near modern Hohhot. King Wuling of Zhao also built a long wall stretching through the Hetao region. After Qin Shihuang created the first unified Chinese empire in 221 BC, he sent the general Meng Tian to drive the Xiongnu from the region, and incorporated the old Zhao wall into the Qin Dynasty Great Wall of China. He also maintained two commanderies in the region: Jiuyuan and Yunzhong, and moved 30,000 households there to solidify the region. After the Qin Dynasty collapsed in 206 BC, these efforts were abandoned.

During the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu sent the general Wei Qing to reconquer the Hetao region from the Xiongnu in 127 BC. After the conquest, Emperor Wu continued the policy of building settlements in Hetao to defend against the Xiong-Nu. In that same year he established the commanderies of Shuofang and Wuyuan in Hetao. At the same time, what is now eastern Inner Mongolia was controlled by the Xianbei, who would later on eclipse the Xiongnu in power and influence.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD), Xiongnu who surrendered to the Han Dynasty began to be settled in Hetao, and intermingled with the Han immigrants in the area. Later on during the Western Jin Dynasty, it was a Xiongnu noble from Hetao, Liu Yuan, who established the Han Zhao kingdom in the region, thereby beginning the Sixteen Kingdoms period that saw the disintegration of northern China under a variety of Han and non-Han (including Xiongnu and Xianbei) regimes.

The Sui Dynasty (581–618) and Tang Dynasty (618–907) re-established a unified Chinese empire, and like their predecessors they conquered and settled people into Hetao, though once again these efforts were aborted when the Tang empire began to collapse. Hetao (along with the rest of what now consists Inner Mongolia) was then taken over by the Khitan Empire (Liao Dynasty), founded by the Khitans, a nomadic people originally from what is now the southern part of Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia. They were followed by the Western Xia of the Tanguts, who took control of what is now the western part of Inner Mongolia (including western Hetao) . The Khitans were later replaced by the Jurchens, precursors to the modern Manchus, who established the Jin Dynasty over Manchuria and northern China.

After Genghis Khan unified the Mongol tribes in 1206 and founded the Mongol Empire, the Tangut Western Xia empire was ultimately conquered in 1227, and the Jurchen Jin Dynasty fell in 1234. In 1271, Genghis grandson Khubilai established the Yuan Dynasty. Khubilai's summer capital Shangdu (aka Xanadu) was located near present-day Dolonnor. During that time Ongud and Khunggirad peoples dominated the area of Inner Mongolia. After the Yuan Dynasty was evicted by the Han -led Ming Dynasty in 1368, the Ming rebuilt the Great Wall of China at its present location, which roughly follows the southern border of the modern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (though it deviates significantly at the Hebei- Inner Mongolia border). The Ming established the Three Guards composed of the Mongols there. After the Tumu incident in 1450, Mongols flooded south from Northern Mongolia to Southern Mongolia. Thus from then on until 1635, Inner Mongolia was the center of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

The Manchus gained control of the Inner Mongolian tribes in the early 17th century, then invaded Ming Dynasty in 1644, bringing it under the control of their newly established Qing Dynasty. Under the Qing Dynasty (1636–1912), Greater Mongolia was administered in a different way for each region:

"Outer Mongolia": This region corresponds to the modern state of Mongolia, plus the Russian-administered region of Tannu Uriankhai, and a part of northern Xinjiang. It includes the four leagues (''aimag'') of the Khalkha Mongols north of Gobi, as well as the Tannu Uriankhai and Khovd regions in northwestern Mongolia, which were overseen by the General of Uliastai at the city of Uliastai.

"Inner Mongolia": This region corresponds to most of modern Inner Mongolia and some neighbouring areas in Liaoning and Jilin provinces. The banners and tribes in this region came under six leagues (''chuulghan''): Jirim , Juu Uda, Josutu, Xilingol, Ulanqab, and Yeke Juu.

"Taoxi Mongolia": The Alashan Öölüd and Ejine Torghuud banners were separate from the aimags of Outer Mongolia and the chuulghans of Inner Mongolia. This is equivalent to modern-day Alxa League, the westernmost part of what is now Inner Mongolia.

The Chahar Eight Banners were controlled by the military commander of Chahar (now Zhangjiakou). Their extent corresponds to southern Ulanqab and Bayan Nur 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 vicinities 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 regained independence. There also existed Mongol rebellions in Inner Mongolia in the early era, which were suppressed by the Republic of China. 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 Ulanqab 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 Fengtian 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 Republic of China maps 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 the Republic of China and the Empire of 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. The capital was established at Zhangbei (now in Hebei province), with the puppet government's control extending as far west as the Hohhot region. In August 1945, Mengkiang was taken by Soviet and Outer Mongolian troops during Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation. Despite a considerable movement among Inner Mongolia's Mongols(who comprised then around 15% of Inner Mongolia's population, while Han Chinese around 83%) for unification with Outer Mongolia, Inner Mongolia remained part of China.

Following the end of World War II, the Chinese Communists gained control of Manchuria with decisive Soviet support, and established the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 1947. 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. The leader of Inner Mongolia during that time, as both regional CPC secretary and head of regional government, was Ulanhu.

During the Cultural Revolution, the administration of Ulanhu was purged, and a wave of repressions against the Mongol population of the autonomous region was initiated. In 1969 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.

Geography

Officially Inner Mongolia is classified as one of the provincial-level divisions of North China, but its great stretch means that parts of it belong to Northeast China and Northwest China as well. It borders eight provincial-level divisions in all three of the aforementioned regions (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Gansu), tying with Shaanxi for the greatest number of bordering provincial-level divisions. Most of its international border is with Mongolia, which, in Chinese, is sometimes called "Outer Mongolia" (外蒙古), while a small portion is with Russia.

Due to its size, Inner Mongolia has a wide variety of temperatures but the following climactic characteristics apply provincial-wide: four-season monsoon-influenced climate, with long, cold, very dry winters, quick and dry springtime and autumnal transitions (the former of which is prone to sandstorms), and very warm to hot summers. Generally, cold arid or steppe climatic regimes (Köppen ''BWk, BSk'', respectively) dominate, but there are some areas classified as humid continental (Köppen ''Dwb''), located primarily in higher elevations and in the northeast, and subarctic (Köppen ''Dwc''), located in the far north.

Administrative divisions

Inner Mongolia is divided into 12 prefecture-level divisions. Until the late 1990s, most of Inner Mongolia's prefectural regions were known as ''Leagues'' (), a usage retained from Mongol divisions of the Qing Dynasty. Similarly, county-level divisions are often known as ''Banners'' (). Since the 1990s, numerous Leagues have converted into prefecture-level cities, although Banners remain. The restructuring led to the conversion of primate cities in most leagues to convert to districts administratively (Hailar, Jining, and Dongsheng). Some newly founded prefecture-level cities have chosen to retain the original name of League (Hulunbuir, Bayan Nur, and Ulanqab), some have adopted the Chinese name of their primate city (Chifeng, Tongliao), and one League, Ikh Juu, simply renamed itself Ordos. Despite these recent administrative changes, there is no indication that the Alxa, Hinggan, and Xilin Gol Leagues will convert to prefecture-level cities in the near future.

! Map	! #	! Conventional	! Hanzi	! Hanyu Pinyin	Mongolian language>Mongolian	! Transcription from Mongolian	! Administrative Seat
2	Bayan Nur	巴彦淖尔市	Bāyànnào'ěr shì		Bayan Naγur Qota	Linhe District
3	Wuhai	乌海市	Wūhǎi shì		Üqai Qota	Haibowan District
4		鄂尔多斯市	È'ěrduōsī shì		Ordos Qota	Dongsheng District
5	Baotou	包头市	Bāotóu shì		Buγutu Qota	Kundulun District
6	Hohhot	呼和浩特市	Hūhéhàotè shì		Kökeqota	Huimin District
7	Ulanqab	乌兰察布市	Wūlánchábù shì		Ulaγančabu Qota	Jining District
9	Chifeng	赤峰市	Chìfēng shì		Ulaγanqada Qota
10	Tongliao	通辽市	Tōngliáo shì		Töngliyao QotaBayisingtu Qota	Horqin District
12	Hulunbuir	呼伦贝尔市	Hūlúnbèi'ěr shì		Kölün Buir Qota	Hailar District
Colspan=7 align=center
1		阿拉善盟	Ālāshàn méng		Alaša Ayimaγ	Alxa Left Banner
8		锡林郭勒盟	Xīlínguōlè méng		Sili-yin Ɣool Ayimaγ	Xilinhot
11		兴安盟	Xīng'ān méng		Kingγan Ayimaγ	Ulan Hot

Many of the prefecture-level cities were converted very recently from leagues.

The twelve prefecture-level divisions of Inner Mongolia are subdivided into 101 county-level divisions, including twenty-one districts, eleven county-level cities, seventeen counties, forty-nine banners, and three autonomous banners. Those are in turn divided into 1425 township-level divisions, including 532 towns, 407 townships, 277 sumu, eighteen ethnic townships, one ethnic sumu, and 190 subdistricts.

See the 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 Greater Khingan ranges in the east. Reindeer herding is carried out by Evenks in the Evenk Autonomous Banner. More recently, growing grapes and winemaking have become an economic factor in the Wuhai area. 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 related industries. Inner Mongolia now encourages six competitive industries: energy, chemicals, metallurgy, equipment manufacturing, processing of farm (including dairy) produce, and high technology. Well-known Inner Mongolian enterprises include companies such as ERDOS, Yili, and Mengniu.

The nominal GDP of Inner Mongolia in 2010 was 1.16 trillion yuan (US$172.1 billion), a growth of 16.9% from 2008, with an average annual increase of 20% from the period 2003-2007. Its per capita GDP reached 37,287 yuan (US$5,460) in 2009. In 2008, Inner Mongolia's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 90.7 billion yuan, 427.1 billion yuan, and 258.4 billion yuan respectively. The urban per capita disposable income and rural per capita net income were 14,431 yuan and 4,656 yuan, up 16.6% and 17.8% respectively.

As with much of China, economic growth has led to a boom in construction, including new commercial development and large apartment complexes.

As the winds in the grasslands are very strong, some private companies have set up wind parks in parts of Inner Mongolia such as Bailingmiao, Hutengliang and zhouzi.

Economic and Technological Development Zones

Baotou National Rare Earth Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Erenhot Border Economic Cooperation Area

Hohhot Export Processing Zone

Hohhot Export Processing Zone was established on June, 21st 2002 by State Council, which is located in the west of the Hohhot, with a planning area of 2.2 sqkm. Industries encouraged in the export processing zone include Electronics Assembly & Manufacturing, Telecommunications Equipment, Garment and Textiles Production, Trading and Distribution, Biotechnology/Pharmaceuticals, Food/Beverage Processing, Instruments & Industrial Equipment Production, Medical Equipment and Supplies, Shipping/Warehousing/Logistics, Heavy Industry.

Hohhot Economic and Technological Development Zone

Hohhot Export Processing Zone

Manzhouli Border Economic Cooperation Area

Government and politics

Under the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, articles 112-122, autonomous regions have limited autonomy in both the political and economic arena. Autonomous regions have more discretion in administering economic policy in the region in accordance with national guidelines. Structurally, the Chairman — who legally must be an ethnic minority and is usually ethnic Mongolian — is always kept in check by the Communist Party Regional Committee Secretary, who is usually from a different part of China (to reduce corruption) and Han Chinese. The current party secretary is Hu Chunhua. The Inner Mongolian government and its subsidiaries follow roughly the same structure as that of a Chinese province. With regards to economic policy, as a part of increased federalism characteristics in China, Inner Mongolia has become more independent in implementing its own economic roadmap.

Demographics

When the autonomous region was established in 1947, Han Chinese comprised 83.6% of the population, while the Mongols comprised 14.8% of the population. By the year 2000, the percentage of Han Chinese fell to 79.17%. While the Hetao region along the Yellow River has always alternated between farmers from the south and nomads from the north, the most recent episode of Han Chinese migration began in the early 18th century with encouragement from the Qing Dynasty, and continued into the 20th century. Han Chinese live mostly in the Hetao region as well as various population centres in central and eastern Inner Mongolia. Over 70% of Mongols are concentrated in less than 18% of Inner Mongolia's territory (Hinggan League, and prefectures Tongliao and Chifeng).

Mongols are the second largest ethnic group, comprising 17.13% of the population, an increase of 2,33% since 1947. They include many diverse Mongolian-speaking groups; groups such as the Buryats and the Oirats are also officially considered to be Mongols in China. 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 Oroqen, the Hui, the Manchus, and the Koreans.

align=center colspan=3	Ethnic groups in Inner Mongolia, 2000 census
Ethnicities of China>Ethnicity !! Population !! Percentage
Han Chinese	18,465,586	79.17%
Mongol	3,995,349
Manchu people	Manchu	499,911
Hui people	Hui	209,850
Daur people	Daur	77,188
Evenks	26,201
Koreans in China	Koreans	21,859
Russians	5,020

Excludes members of the People's Liberation Army in active service.

Culture

The Han Chinese of Inner Mongolia speak a variety of dialects, depending on the region. The eastern parts tend to speak Northeastern Mandarin, which belongs to the Mandarin group of dialects; those in the central parts, such as the Huang He valley, speak varieties of Jin, another subdivision of Chinese, due to its proximity to other Jin-speaking areas in China such as the Shanxi province. Cities such as Hohhot and Baotou both have their unique brand of Jin Chinese which are sometimes incomprehensible with dialects spoken in northeastern regions such as Hailar.

Mongols in Inner Mongolia speak a variety of dialects of the Mongolian language, including Chahar, Bairin, Ordos, Ejin-Alxa, Barghu-Buryat, etc.; the standard pronunciation of Mongolian in China is based on the Chahar dialect of the Plain Blue Banner, located in central Inner Mongolia. This is different from independent Mongolia, where the standard pronunciation is based on the Khalkha dialect. The Daur, Evenks, and Oroqin speak their own respective languages.

By law, all street signs, commercial outlets, and government documents must be bilingual, written in Mongolian and Chinese. There are three Mongolian TV channels in the Inner Mongolia Satellite TV network. In public transportation, all announcements are to be bilingual. Many ethnic Mongols, especially the young, speak fluent Chinese. Mongolian is receding urban areas. But rural ethnic Mongols have kept their traditions. In terms of written language, Inner Mongolia has retained the classic Mongol written script as opposed to Outer Mongolia's adoption of the Cyrillic alphabet.

The vast grasslands have long symbolised Inner Mongolia. Mongolian art often depicts the grassland in an uplifting fashion and emphasizes Mongolian nomadic traditions. The Mongols of Inner Mongolia still practice their traditional arts. Inner Mongolian cuisine has Mongol roots and consists of dairy-related products and ''hand-held lamb'' (手扒肉). In recent years, franchises based on Hot pot have appeared Inner Mongolia, the most famous of which is ''Xiaofeiyang'' (小肥羊). Famous Inner Mongolian commercial brand names include Mengniu and Yili, both of which began as dairy product and ice cream producers.

Among the Han Chinese of Inner Mongolia, Jinju (晉劇) or Shanxi Opera is a popular traditional form of entertainment. See also: Shanxi.

The famous actress Siqin Gaowa is an ethnic Mongol from Inner Mongolia.

A popular career in Inner Mongolia is circus acrobatics. The famous Inner Mongolia Acrobatic Troupe travels and performs with the renowned Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

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 Höhhot area, and once the center of power of Lamaism in the region.

Zhaojun Tomb is the tomb of Wang Zhaojun, a Han Dynasty palace lady-in-waiting who became the consort of a Xiongnu ruler.

Five-pagoda Temple is located in the capital of Inner Mongolia Hohhot. It is also called Jingangzuo Dagoba, used to be one building of the Cideng Temple.

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.

The Arshihaty Stone Forest in Hexigten Global Geopark has magnificent granite rock formations formed from natural erosion.

Xiangshawan, or "singing sands gorge," is located in the Gobi Desert and contains numerous tourist attractions including sand sledding and camel rides.

Chinese space programme

One of China's space vehicle launch facilities, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) (), is located in the extreme west of Inner Mongolia, in the Alxa League's Ejin Banner, about 1,600 km from Beijing. It was founded in 1958, making it the PRC's first launch facility. More Chinese launches have occurred at Jiuquan than anywhere else. As with all Chinese launch facilities, it is remote and generally closed to the public. It is named as such since Jiuquan is the nearest urban centre, although Jiuquan is in the nearby province of Gansu. Many space vehicles have also made their touchdowns in Inner Mongolia. For example, the crew of Shenzhou 6 landed in Siziwang Banner, near Hohhot.

Education

Colleges and universities

Chifeng University (ulaγanqada degedü surγaγuli / 赤峰学院)

Inner Mongolia Agricultural University (öbür mongγol-un tariyalang-un yeke surγaγuli / 内蒙古农业大学)

Inner Mongolia Finance and Economics College (öbür mongγol-un ed-ün jasaγ aju aqui-yin degedü surγaγuli / 内蒙古财经学院)

Inner Mongolia Medical College (öbür mongγol-un emnelge-yin degedü surγaγuli / 内蒙古医学院)

Inner Mongolia Normal University (öbür mongγol-un baγsi-yin yeke surγaγuli / 内蒙古师范大学)

Inner Mongolia University (öbür mongγol-un yeke surγaγuli / 内蒙古大学)

Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities (öbür mongγol-un ündüsüten-ü yeke surγaγuli / 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 (öbür mongγol-un aju üiledbüri-yin yeke surγaγuli / 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.

See also

Leagues of Inner Mongolia

List of administrative divisions of Inner Mongolia

East Asian snowstorms of 2009-2010

East Asian snowstorms of 2010-2011

Notes and references

External links

Inner Mongolia Government website

Mongolian edition

Category:Autonomous regions of the People's Republic of China Category:States and territories established in 1947

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