The autonomous region was established in 1947, incorporating the areas of the former Republic of China provinces of Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei, and Xing'an, along with the northern parts of Gansu and Ningxia.

The historical narrative of what is now Eastern Inner Mongolia mostly consists of alternations between different Tungusic and Mongol tribes, rather than the struggle between nomads and Chinese farmers.

After destroying the Dí state of Zhongshan in what is now Hebei province, he defeated the Linhu and Loufan and created the Yunzhong Commandery near modern Hohhot.

[12] During the Western Han dynasty, Emperor Wu sent the general Wei Qing to reconquer the Hetao region from the Xiongnu in 127 BC.

The Khitans were later replaced by the Jurchens, precursors to the modern Manchus, who established the Jin dynasty over Manchuria and Northern China.

Ejei Khan was given the title of Prince (親王; qīn wáng), and Inner Mongolian nobility became closely tied to the Qing royal family and intermarried with them extensively.

After Abunai showed disaffection with Manchu Qing rule, he was placed under house arrest in 1669 in Shenyang and the Kangxi Emperor gave his title to his son Borni.

[16] Mongol pilgrims wanting to leave their banner's borders for religious reasons such as pilgrimage had to apply for passports to give them permission.

By 1791, there had been so many Han Chinese settlers in the Front Gorlos Banner that the jasak had petitioned the Qing government to legalise the status of the peasants who had already settled there.

[18] During the nineteenth century, the Manchus were becoming increasingly sinicised and faced with the Russian threat, they began to encourage Han Chinese farmers to settle in both Mongolia and Manchuria.

Although almost all banners of Inner Mongolia recognised the Bogd Khan as the supreme ruler of Mongols, the internal strife within the region prevented a full reunification.

[22] Eventually, the newly formed Republic of China promised a new nation of five races (Han, Manchu, Mongol, Tibetan and Uyghur).

In 1931, Manchuria came under the control of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo, taking some Mongol areas in the Manchurian provinces (i.e., Hulunbuir and Jirim leagues) along.

On 8 December 1937, Mongolian Prince Demchugdongrub (also known as "De Wang") declared independence for the remaining parts of Inner Mongolia (i.e., the Suiyuan and Chahar provinces) as Mengjiang, and signed agreements with Manchukuo and Japan.

Its capital was established at Zhangbei (now in Hebei province), with the Japanese puppet government's control extending as far west as the Hohhot region.

By the end of WWII, the Inner Mongolian faction of the ComIntern had a functional militia and actively opposed the attempts at independence by De Wang's Chinggisid princes on the grounds of fighting feudalism.

Inner Mongolia was underdeveloped until the early 2000s, when huge mineral deposits including coal (such as Dongsheng Coalfield) and rare earth metals were discovered.

[32] Attempts to attract ethnic Chinese to migrate from other regions, as well as urbanise those rural nomads and peasants has led to huge amounts of corruption and waste in public spending, such as Ordos City.

[33][34] Acute uneven wealth distribution has further exacerbated ethnic tensions, many indigenous Mongolians feeling they are increasingly marginalised in their own homeland, leading to riots in 2011 and 2013.

[35][36] On 31 August 2020, large protests broke out in ethnic Mongol communities due to unannounced plans by the Chinese government to phase out Mongolian-medium teaching.

The northern part consists of the Mesozoic era Khingan Mountains, and is owing to the cooler climate more forested, chiefly with Manchurian elm, ash, birch, Mongolian oak and a number of pine and spruce species.

In the south, the natural vegetation is grassland in the east and very sparse in the arid west, and grazing is the dominant economic activity.

The spring is short, mild and arid, with large, dangerous sandstorms, whilst the summer is very warm to hot and relatively humid except in the west where it remains dry.

[citation needed]Officially, most of Inner Mongolia is classified as either a cold arid or steppe regime (Köppen BWk, BSk, respectively).

Until the late 1990s, most of Inner Mongolia's prefectural regions were known as leagues (Chinese: 盟), a usage retained from Mongol divisions of the Qing dynasty.

Inner Mongolia now encourages six competitive industries: energy, chemicals, metallurgy, equipment manufacturing, processing of farm (including dairy) produce, and high technology.

As with much of China, economic growth has led to a boom in construction, including new commercial development and large apartment complexes.

In practice, highly educated Mongols tend to migrate to big urban centers after which they become essentially indistinct with ethnic Han Chinese populations.

Notable Inner Mongolian commercial brand names include Mengniu and Yili, both of which began as dairy product and ice cream producers.

[89] His worship in special temples, greatly developed in Inner Mongolia since the 1980s, is also shared by the Han Chinese, claiming his spirit as the founding principle of the Yuan dynasty.