Xinhua Insight: 800 years after Genghis Khan, Chinese Mongolians forge new prosperity

Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-01 15:04:11|Editor: An
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CHINA-INNER MONGOLIA-GENGHIS KHAN-MEMORIAL RITUAL (CN)

A worshipper prays for good fortune during a grand memorial ritual for the 13th-century great conqueror Genghis Khan at the mausoleum of Genghis Khan in Ordos, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, April 17, 2017. The annual spring ceremony for Genghis Khan has been practiced for nearly 800 years. Worshippers stepped into the shrine, offering hada, a ceremonial silk scarf, and tea bricks, among other offerings. Genghis Khan's relics are enshrined at the site. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)

SETTLED LIFE OF HERDERS

Great changes have taken place on the prairie since Inner Mongolia became the country's first autonomous region in 1947. Most herders have settled down and lived a better life.

Burenjargal, a herder on the outskirts of Xilinhot city, moved to a new house three years ago. With a TV set, tap water, a flush toilet and a gas stove, his family life is almost no different from those in the cities.

"Motorcycles were quite popular among herders for some time. But now, horse-riding has returned," he said."It looks elegant and gives physical exercise."

Burenjargal loved horse-riding in his childhood and has 60 horses and 10 cattle on his grassland. Last year, his revenue from selling horses and mare's milk, and tourism, reached 200,000 yuan (29,000 U.S.dollars).

The area of grassland in Xilingol accounts for a quarter of the total in the region. To prevent overgrazing, in recent years the government has subsidized herders who raise livestock in sustainable fashion.

"The old grazing model could not be sustained any more. We must protect the grasslands where we live," said Hasbater, an elderly herder who lives in a degraded grassland area in Xilingol.

"Without the prairies, Xilingol would lose its color," said Luo Huzai, Communist Party chief of Xilingol League. "We must keep the three bottom lines: ethnic unity, border stability and a good environment."

Herders and farmers now flock to the towns. The region's urbanization rate for its permanent population rose from 55.5 percent in 2011 to 60.3 percent in 2015, or about 200,000 people moving into cities each year.

"More and more Mongolian people are moving to cities. The herders from the grasslands live a more comfortable life after settlement," Gombzarb said.

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KEY WORDS: Inner Mongolia
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