Inner Mongolia

American  

[in-er mong-goh-lee-uh, ‐mon] / ˈɪn ər mɒŋˈgoʊ li ə, ‐mɒn /

noun

1. an administrative division in northeastern China, adjoining the Mongolian People's Republic. 174,000 sq. mi. (450,660 sq. km). Hohhot.

---

Inner Mongolia British  

noun

1. an autonomous region of NE China: consists chiefly of the Mongolian plateau, with the Gobi Desert in the north and the Great Wall of China in the south. Capital: Hohhot. Pop: 23 800 000 (2003 est). Area: 1 177 500 sq km (459 225 sq miles)

---

Etymology

Origin of Inner Mongolia

First recorded in 1830–35

Example Sentences

One is the Inner Mongolia region's Bayan Obo mining district on the edge of the Gobi Desert, which is rich in "light" rare earths used for magnets in everyday items.

From Barron's • Dec. 21, 2025

The push for power supremacy is transforming remote expanses of Inner Mongolia, a Texas-like landscape of wide-open spaces now dotted with thousands of wind turbines and crisscrossed by transmission lines.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

The entire probe is due to return in about three weeks' time to a landing site in Inner Mongolia.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2024

The container will be transferred to a reentry capsule that is due to return to Earth in the deserts of China’s Inner Mongolia region about June 25.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2024

All that we know indicates that at the time of the Peking Man there must have been a warmer and especially a damper climate in North China and Inner Mongolia than today.

From A History of China by Eberhard, Wolfram