Location: Situated on China's northern frontier.

Area: 1,183,000 sq km

Climate: Inner Mongolia, with a temperate continental monsoon climate, has a cold, long winter with frequent blizzards and a warm, short summer. Except for the relatively humid Greater Hinggan Mountain area, the greater part of Inner Mongolia is, from west to east, arid, semi-arid and semi-humid.

Provincial capital: Hohhot

Population: 22.32 million

Ethnic groups: Mongol, Han, Duar, Ewenki, Hui, Manchu and other ethnic groups

Agriculture: Inner Mongolia is a major stockbreeding center known for its Sanhe Horses, Sanhe Oxen and fine wool sheep. Apart from wheat, oat, millet, sorghum, maize, potato and rice, a wide range of cash crops are grown, including soy beans, linseed, rapeseed, castor-oil plants and sugar-beets. The Greater Hinggan range makes up one-sixth of the country's total timber reserves.

Industry: The region has large deposits of iron, chromium, copper, lead, zinc, gold, mica salt and mirabilite. Founded in many parts of Inner Mongolia is coal, the reserves of which total 198.2 billion tons -- second largest in China those of Shanxi Province. Coal is mined in four large open-cut mines and other collieries. Huge quantities of it are turned into electric current at thermal power plants and carried by high-voltage transmission lines to North and Northeast China.