Facingmodernity
China’s booming Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region marks the 70th anniversary of its foundation
AN express train departed slowly from Hohhot, capital city of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, at 10:18 a.m. on August 3, heading for Ulanqab, another city in the region.
The train, running at a speed of up to 250 km per hour, was the first high-speed train in the region and it reduced the rail journey time between the two locations from over one hour to 40 minutes.
The rail link is part of a longer line which in 2018 will extend eastward to Zhangjiakou, the co-host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Hebei Province. The train was put into operation five days before the ceremony celebrating the 70th anniversary of the region’s foundation. From April 23 to May 3 in 1947, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), a people’s congress was held in Ulanhot, Inner Mongolia, and May 1 was set as the date for the region’s founding.
Inner Mongolia was the first provincial-level ethnic autonomous region established in China. The aim was to create equality, solidarity and common prosperity for all 55 ethnic groups in a total population of about 25 million people, of whom one fifth are ethnic Mongolians. The autonomous region occupies 12 percent of China’s land and lies adjacent to eight other provincial regions, bordering Russia and Mongolia on the north.
“The successful example set by Inner Mongolia proves that regional ethnic autonomy is the choice suitable for China,” said Yu Zhengsheng, Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the nation’s top political advisory body, at the ceremony marking the 70th anniversary held in Hohhot on August 8.
Inner Mongolia, in the past seven decades, has developed in various areas and made great achievements. Figures from the regional government show that the its economy has expanded from 537 million yuan ($76 million) in 1947 to 1.863 trillion yuan ($266.2 billion) in 2016.