Area: 1,183,000 km2 (457,000 sq mi) (3rd)

Population(2004): 23,840,000 (23rd)

Major Ethnic Composition: Han 79%; Mongol 17%; Manchu 2%; Hui 0.9%; Daur 0.3%

GDP(2008): CNY 776.2 billion (16th)

Capital: Hohhot

Prefecture-level: 12 divisions 

Major Cities: Baotou; Hohhot; Chifeng; Wuhai

Official Website: www.nmg.gov.cn (In Chinese) 

Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongo) Autonomous Region is situated in the north-most part of China, sharing a common border with the U.S.S.R. and the People's Republic of Mongolia. The Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia was set up on the 1st of May, 1947, it is the first autonomous region of minority nationalities in China. It has an area of over 1.183 million square kilometers (about 1/8 of total China area) and a population of 23.86 million (2006), comprising the Mongolian, Han, Daur, Ewenki, Oroqen, Hui, Manchu, Korean and other nationalities.

The Region is bitterly cold in winter and warm in summer. The average annual temperature is in the range between -1°C and 10°C (30.2°F and 50°F). In January, the coldest month, the average temperature ranges from -23°C (-9.4°F) in the north-eastern part of the Region to -10°C (14°F) in the south-western part; in July, the warmest month, the average temperature ranges from 19°C (66.2°F) in the north-eastern part to 24°C  (75.2°F) in the south-western part. The temperature in the northern part is lower on the average than in the other places. The frost-free period varies from 90 to 160 days, and the average annual precipitation is between 50mm and 450mm, mostly in late summer and early autumn.

During the period of Warring States, Inner Mongolia was partly occupied by the State of Zhao and partly inhabited by the Xiongnus—a minority nationality in the northern part of China. During the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220), it covered the area occupied by the Xiongnus and prefectures of Wuyuan and Shoufang. In the Tang Dynasty, the autonomous prefectures of Feng and Seng were set up here. In Yuan Dynasty, it was divided into the prefectures of Shangdu, Jining, Dening, Jinzhou, Yinchang, etc. It became Inner Mongolia in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Over the long years in history, Nei Mongol was mainly a place where the nomadic nationalities lived and moved about. At the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, under the rule of Genghis Khan, many tribes were unified into a single nationality with its own language, and the Yuan Empire was thus founded. After the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Inner Mongolia has been placed successively under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, the Northern Warlords, the Kuomintang reactionaries and the Japanese imperialist.