Ethnic Mongols in China
Encyclopedia
Mongols in China are citizens of the People's Republic of China
who are ethnic Mongols
. They form one of the 55 ethnic minorities
officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. There are approximately 5.8 million ethnic Mongols living in China. Most of them live in Inner Mongolia
, Northeast China
, Xinjiang
, etc. The Mongol population in China is over twice that of the independent nation of Mongolia
.
Besides the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, there are other Mongol autonomous administrative subdivisions in China.
On prefecture level:
On county level:
include:
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
who are ethnic Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
. They form one of the 55 ethnic minorities
Ethnic minorities in China
Ethnic minorities in China are the non-Han Chinese population in the People's Republic of China. The People's Republic of China officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within China in addition to the Han majority. As of 2010, the combined population of officially recognised minority...
officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. There are approximately 5.8 million ethnic Mongols living in China. Most of them live in Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia 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...
, Northeast China
Northeast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
, Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
, etc. The Mongol population in China is over twice that of the independent nation of Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
.
Regional distribution
The Mongols in China are divided between autonomous regions and provinces as follows:- 68.72%: Inner MongoliaInner MongoliaInner Mongolia 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...
Autonomous Region - 11.52%: LiaoningLiaoning' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
Province - 2.96%: JilinJilinJilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
Province - 2.92%: HebeiHebei' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
Province - 2.58%: XinjiangXinjiangXinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
Autonomous Region - 2.43%: HeilongjiangHeilongjiangFor the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
Province - 1.48%: QinghaiQinghaiQinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
Province - 1.41%: HenanHenanHenan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Province - 5.98%: Rest of China
Besides the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, there are other Mongol autonomous administrative subdivisions in China.
On prefecture level:
- Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous PrefectureHaixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous PrefectureHaixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in northern Qinghai province of Western China. It has an area of and its capital is Delingha...
- Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture
- Bortala Mongol Autonomous PrefectureBörtala Mongol Autonomous PrefectureBortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture , short for Bortala , is a Mongol autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It has an area of 27,000 square kilometers. Bole is its capital...
On county level:
- Weichang Manchu and Mongol Autonomous CountyWeichang Manchu and Mongol Autonomous County-Administrative Divisions:There are 7 towns and 30 townships in the county.Towns:*Weichang Town , Siheyong , Kelegou , Qipanshan , Banjieta , Chaoyangdi , Chaoyangwan Townships:...
(Hebei) - Harqin Left Mongol Autonomous County (Liaoning)
- Fuxin Mongol Autonomous County (Liaoning)
- Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous CountyQian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous CountyQian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County , or simply Qian Gorlos County or Qianguo County, is a county of northwestern Jilin, Northeast China...
(Jilin) - Dorbod Mongol Autonomous CountyDorbod Mongol Autonomous CountyThe Mongol Autonomous County of Dorbod is an administrative subdivision of the province of Heilongjiang, China. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Daqing.- Demographics :The population of the county was in 1999....
(Heilongjiang) - Subei Mongol Autonomous CountySubei Mongol Autonomous CountyNot to be confused with Subei, or northern Jiangsu.Subei Mongol Autonomous County is an autonomous county in the prefecture-level city of Jiuquan in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu. It has an area of 66,748km² and approximately 13,046 inhabitants...
(Gansu) - Henan Mongol Autonomous CountyHenan Mongol Autonomous CountyHenan Mongol Autonomous County is an autonomous county in the south of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the province of Qinghai.Its administrative seat is the town of Yêgainnyin . Henan has an area of 6.250 km² and approximately 30,000 inhabitants...
(Qinghai) - Hoboksar Mongol Autonomous CountyHoboksar Mongol Autonomous CountyHoboksar Mongol Autonomous County is a county situated in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administrative jurisdiction of the Tacheng Prefecture. It has an area of 28,799 km² with a population of 50,000. The Postcode is 834400....
(Xinjiang)
Related groups
Not all groups of people related to the medieval Mongols are officially classified as Mongols under the current system. Other official ethnic groups in China which speak Mongolic languagesMongolic languages
The Mongolic languages are a group of languages spoken in East-Central Asia, mostly in Mongolia and surrounding areas plus in Kalmykia. The best-known member of this language family, Mongolian, is the primary language of most of the residents of Mongolia and the Mongolian residents of Inner...
include:
- the DongxiangDongxiangDongxiang may refer to:*China Dongxiang, a sportswear company in China*Dongxiang language, a Mongolic language*Dongxiang people, an ethnic group of China who speak the Dongxiang language*Dongxiang Autonomous County in Gansu, China...
of Gansu Province - the Monguor of QinghaiQinghaiQinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
and Gansu Provinces - the Daur of Inner MongoliaInner MongoliaInner Mongolia 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...
- the BonanBonanThe Bonan people are an ethnic group living in Gansu and Qinghai provinces in northwestern China...
of Gansu Province - some of the YugurYugurThe Yugurs ,or Yellow Uyghurs as they are traditionally known,are one of China's 56 officially recognized nationalities, consisting of 13,719 persons according to the 2000 census. The Yugur live primarily in Sunan Yugur Autonomous County in Gānsù Province. They are Buddhists, unlike the Xinjiang...
s of Gansu Province (other Yugurs speak a Turkic language)
Notable people
- UlanhuUlanhuUlanhu was the founder of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China, Ulanhu had the nickname of "Mongolian Khan" during his political career.-Career:...
, politician - Li SiguangLi SiguangLi Siguang , is the founder of China's geomechanics. According to his daughter, he was a Mongol in China. He made outstanding contributions to changing the situation of "oil deficiency" in the country, enabling the large-scale development of oil fields to raise the country to the ranks of the...
, founder of China's geomechanicsGeomechanicsGeomechanics is the geologic study of the behavior of soil and rock. The two main disciplines of geomechanics are soil mechanics and rock mechanics. The former deals with the behaviour of soil from a small scale to a landslide scale... - Siqin GaowaSiqin GaowaSechen Guwa is a Chinese-Swiss actress of Mongol ethnicity. Her name "Сэцэн Гуа" means in Mongolian: The Wise Beautiful.She first came into prominence in the 1982 film adaptation of Lao She's novel, Rickshaw Boy, where she played "Tigress" opposite Zhang Fengyi's Xiangzi...
, a famous actress of China - Mengke BateerMengke BateerMengke Bateer or Menk Batere , commonly referred to simply as Bateer, is a Chinese professional basketball player, formerly in the NBA. He currently plays center for Xinjiang Guanghui.Bateer is an ethnic minority from China's Inner Mongolia region...
, basketball player - Bao Xishun, one of the tallest men alive
- TenggerTengger (singer)Tengger, also known as Tenger , is a popular Mongol singer, a songwriter and a composer. He was born in Otog Banner, Inner Mongolia, China in Sainbayar family....
, a pop/rock musician - Sengge RinchenSengge RinchenSengge Rinchen was a Mongol nobleman and general during the Qing dynasty, who is mainly known for his role during the Second Opium War and the suppression of the Taiping and Nian rebellions.-Background:...
, Qing dynastyQing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
nobleman and general - Buren BayaerBuren BayaerBuren Bayar is a singer, composer and a disc jockey in China. He is an Inner Mongolian and was born in 1960.His song "Chandmani Erdene" has become very popular in China in recent years. The song is originally sung in Mongolian, although another version sung in Mandarin Chinese has been released...
, singer, composer and a disc jockey - UyunqimgUyunqimgUyunqimg is the highest-ranking ethnic Mongolian official and second-highest ranking female official in the People's Republic of China...
, Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress - Fu YingFu YingFu Ying has been serving as vice foreign minister of People's Republic of China after served as the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom from March 2007 to 2009. From 2004 to 2007 she was the ambassador to Australia...
, Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom - Zhang XiaopingZhang XiaopingZhang Xiaoping is a Chinese amateur boxer who won a gold medal as a light heavyweight in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.-Career:He won two matches at the world championships 2007 including an upset over Germany's world military champion Gottlieb Weiss but lost to veteran Yerkabulan Shinaliev and fell...
, boxer - Sa Dingding, singer
- ChinggelteiChinggelteiChinggeltei is a professor of linguistics at the Inner Mongolia University in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, focusing on the Mongolic languages. He was one of the founders of the university, and served as its first vice-rector...
, linguist, one of the world's few experts on the Khitan languageKhitan languageThe Khitan language is a now-extinct language once spoken by the Khitan people . Khitan is generally deemed to be genetically linked to the Mongolic languages. It was written using two mutually exclusive writing systems known as the Khitan large script and the Khitan small script... - JalsanJalsanJalsan is a politician, scholar, and Buddhist leader in the People's Republic of China. He is of Mongol ethnicity.-Early life and education:...
, linguist and Buddhist leader - Baasan, a famous actress
Further reading
- Human Rights in China: China, Minority Exclusion, Marginalization and Rising Tensions, London, Minority Rights Group International, 2007
External links
- The Mongolian ethnic minority Chinese government information.