Inner Mongolia

Another cover from China - and I had quite some difficulty finding out about these stamps too ! 

These 3 stamps were issued in 2017 to mark the 70 th anniversary of Inner Mongolia Autonomous region. 

Inner Mongolia

This massive region, forming a giant northwesterly arc linking Siberia with Central Asia, takes up a third of China’s area. Geographically it ranges from forest to sandy desert to grassland, whilst ethnically these lands are home to several Chinese minorities, notably Mongolians, Uighur, and Hui, as well as, among others, Russians, Kazakhs, and Kyrgyz.

Bordering the Mongolian Republic and Russia to the north, the Central Asian states to the west, and the Indian subcontinent to the south, this region is now indissolubly attached to China, as a result of vigorously pursued Chinese hegemony. However, historic cultural identities have been retained, and this, together with the region’s distinctive geography, means that Inner Mongolia and the northwest have a different character to most of China. Because of this, these three areas – Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia – are not officially provinces but so-called Autonomous Regions, where the Hui, Uighur, and Mongolian peoples theoretically have a measure of self-government. In practice, any autonomy is superficial, though local languages are spoken and religions practised reasonably freely.

Although the communities are united by their ethnic minority status, the region is by no means an organic entity. For example, the Mongolians and Uighur are only connected by the fact of their inclusion within the political borders of China. Mongolia’s grasslands are inhabited by a traditionally nomadic people who obtain their livelihood through the grazing of sheep and horses. 

Historically, this area’s most significant period was during the great days of the Silk Road, when caravans carrying silk, spices, and tea crossed the inhospitable terrain, stopping at oasis towns along the way. Centuries later, this region became the domain offer Genghis Khan, the Mongol warlord. These desert gardens are still markets where local products, from raisins to saddles and daggers, are traded just as they have been for centuries.

Thanks Chen for the cover !