Natural resources

Inner Mongolia is rich in natural resources with forestry in the east, iron in the west, grains in the south, animal husbandry in the north with mineral deposits everywhere. For animal husbandry, we have foxes, horses, camels, goats and their by-products and the total number of our livestock has exceeded 60 million. Every year we have a yield of 700000 tons of meat,6000 tons of sheepwool,2146 tons of goats wool and 500000 tons of milk, all of them ranking at the top of those of the country. For coal, its total amount does demonstrate deposits are 240 billion tons, taking one fourth of that of the whole country. And it is fine in quality, rich in variety and easy to mine. We have 10 coal mines with a deposit amount of over 1 billion tons and 6 coal mines with a deposit amount of over 10 billion tons. Of the 5 large open pits under the State Key Construction Programme, 4 of them are in our Region. For rare earth resources, their total demonstrated deposits takes up 97% of that of China and 77% of that of the world. For oil gas, we have a large deposit in our Region and have discovered 13 mines with an estimated deposit of oil of 3 billion tons. The highest deposit of oil gas is 1100 billion cubic meters.

Agricultural resources

The farmland per capita ranks the 1st in China . The Region has usable farmland of 5.4914 million hectares with 0.24 hectare per capita,3 times of that in the whole country. The 4 major plains are also called "granary".

Animal husbandry resources

The pasture land is the largest among the five major ones of China in area. The grassland is as long as 2000 kms from the east to the west and has a total area of 86.67 million hectares, of which 68 million hectares are usable. There are such famous grasslands as Hulunbeir, Xilinguole, Kerqin, Wulanchabu, Erdos and Wulate Grasslands with rich animal husbandry resources and such fine species as Sanhe Cow, Sanhe Horse, Grassland Red Cow, Ujimqin Big-tail sheep, Aohan Fine Wool Sheep, Inner Mongolia Fine Wool Sheep, Arbas White Goat and Arlashan Camel. The Inner Mongolia goatswool, renowned as "soft gold" and "fibre jewels" within the textile industry, takes up one fourth of the worldly output.

Forest resources

The forest area is the largest in China in the number of 14.07 million hectares which is mainly located in Big Xinganling Mountain , taking up 12% of that of the whole country. It is a leading timber production base of our country. There are as many as 350 species of trees and the major fine species are: Hingan larch, Korean pine, kahikatea, camphor tree, Chinese pine, Mongolian oak, black birch, white birch, ash

Water resources

The present deposit of water resources is 90.3 billion cubic meters, including 67.5 billion cubic meters of ground water. There are over 90 rivers that can be used to generate electric power of 5000KW each. The Region has a total water surface of 984300 hectares, of which the usable area is 655000 hectares, taking up 10.68% of that of the whole country and measures up to Hubei Province in this aspect. Our water resources have not only provided good conditions for the irrigation of cultivated land and generation of hydraulic power, but also offered broad prospects for the aquaculture. Now we have the following fishing grounds with an annual yield of 100 tons: Hulun Nur, Dali Nur,Uliangsuhai Nur and Dai Hai. There are such fine species of fishes in many varieties as carp, crucian, breamand grass carp with Yellow River Carp as the most famous. Besides we have many sorts of mineral water and hot springs with mild climate and beautiful scenery, such as Arrshan Hot Spring, Wenahe Hot Spring, Arlashanbaolige Mineral Water,Keshiketeng Hot Spring and Ningcheng Hot Spring.

Wild fauna resources

Inner Mongolia is called natural paradise for existence and breeding for wild fauna with 117 varieties of animals and 362 species of birds and 49 animals of our Region are listed in the State and Local Programme for Special Protection. We have over 10 varieties of valuable & rare animals, such as red deer, reindeer, elk, Mongolian gazelle, roe deer, river deer and pterosuar, and over 1000 types of wild plants, 600 of which can be used as precious traditional medical herbs---licorice, Chinese ephedra, membranous milk vetch, Chinese wolfberry, herbaceous peony, large-flowered scullcap, ballon flower and almond with Liangwai Locorice and Mongolian Membranous vetch as the most famous. There are also about 100 species of fiber plants, oil-bearing crops and edible fungus, such as wild cherry, wild grapes, red beans, blueberry, sea-buckthorn fruits, hedgehog hydnum, Jew's ear, mashroom, white mushrooms and black moss.

Mineral resources

Of the 140 kinds of minerals discovered in the world, Inner Mongolia has 120 kinds. Of the 72 kinds in the Deposit List in China, our Region has more than 40 varieties whose deposits are among the top 10,over 20 kinds are among the top 3,and 7 sorts rank the 1st.The coal is especially large in deposit with 217 billion tons discovered, taking one fourth of that of the whole country. And it is fine in quality, rich in variety and easy to mine. We are only second to Xinjiang with a long-term coal deposit of 1200 billion tons. We have 10 coal mines with a deposit amount of over 1 billion tons and 6 coal mines with a deposit amount of over 10 billion tons. Of the 5 large open pits under the State 7th Five-year Plan, 4 of them are in our Region. For oil gas, we have large deposit in our Region and have discovered 13 large fields with an estimated deposit of oil of 2-3 billion tons. The long-term deposit of oil gas is 1000 billion cubic meters. The large world level oil gas field---Shaangganning Oil Field, is located in Erdos Basin of Inner Mongolia for the most part. Being uniquely endowed by nature, Inner Mongolia is famous for its rare earth resources. The total deposits of rare earth oxide discovered takes up more than 90% of that of China and 70% of that of the world, of which beryllium, tantalum and cobalt rank the 1st and 2nd respectively in demonstrated deposits. The Region's minerals(excluding oil and gas) are evaluated to have a value of RMB1.3 billion which has a great value for mining.

Tourism resources

Inner Mongolia is rich in tourism resources. they mainly include: beautiful grassland, melodious resounding desert, vast forest, clear and white snow scenery, numerous archaeological discoveries, historical places of interest and special local customs of the northern minor nationalities. The major scenic spots are: Genghis Khan Tomb, Zhaojun Tomb, Five-Pagoda Temple , Wudangzhao Temple , Xilituzhao Temple and the White Pogoda which have attracted thousands of tourists from home and abroad. The beautiful grassland, fascinating primeval forest and the fascinating resounding desert are eloquent of special funs.

There are also particular features of the north area, unique tourist spots, brilliant and varied national cultures, various and interesting local customs, and other humanistic and cultural

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 [Origin:Inner Mongolia Government Website]