Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol) is the the first national autonomous region established in China. It stretches along China's northern border with Mongolia and Russia and covers an oblong area of over 1.28 million square kilometers, one eighth of China. Of all the Chinese provinces and autonomous regions, Inner Mongolia is the third largest after Xinjiang and Tibet.

The Mongols united under Genghis Khan in 1206, and their descendents went on to conquer the rest of China and then parts of Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries. Today, this region is only for strong and adventurous tourists who don't mind a mutton diet.