Camels, archery, and a 12-year-old's birthday

Inner Mongolia – First day in Baotou
July 22

Inner Mongolia is a region that has been controlled by China for centuries. We visited the largest city, Baotou, a major industrial city built up by Chairman Mao when he was trying to move major industries away from the heavily populated coastal areas. I had read that the majority of people in Inner Mongolia – at least 65% are ethnic Chinese (Han), while fewer than 35% are ethnic Mongolians. But I was shocked to find out just how invisible Mongolians are in Inner Mongolia. Almost everyone we met or interacted with was Chinese. And when we drove through the countryside south of Baotou, we did not see any Mongolian nomads living the traditional lifestyle, in yurts, with flocks of sheep and goats. Not one. We were told that most Mongolians do not live in cities but live as nomads in the northern part of Inner Mongolia.

Jeanne and I arrived in Baotou on Sunday, July 22, around noon. Our goal here was to see the Genghis Khan Mausoleum, but there was not enough time that day. We also wanted to see a famous Tibetan Buddhist monastery, but it had been raining heavily and we were told that the road was unsafe. So instead, on Sunday afternoon we went to a Genghis Khan park in the city of Baotou, opened just two years ago and not mentioned in our guide book. Jeanne and I rented a bicycle built for two and rode for 70 minutes, a distance of eight kilometers, all around the park, which is mostly Mongolian grasslands, but also includes a charming forest of willow trees. Then we rode on camels! just 1000 meters, led by rope, but still very fun. After that, we practiced our archery. We got 12 arrows each, for about $2.50. I got TWO bulls-eyes, which entitled me to 24 extra free shots. I must be channeling my character, Emmajin.

Then we stayed for dinner at a Mongolian restaurant. We had mutton and donkey-meat (paid $20 for a plate of it and neither of us could eat more than two bites) and tree-fungus and crispy noodles and milk-skin snacks (like little cheese triangles). We wanted to order mare's milk wine, but the restaurant didn't have any. An added bonus: the restaurant was hosting a huge party, to celebrate the twelfth birthday of a girl named He Xiao-he. It was very elaborate, a sit-down dinner for 220 guests at 22 tables, a parade of little-girl guests through archways of balloons, firecrackers, fireworks shooting out of torches and out of a "happy birthday" sign, an announcer, an event planner, a four-layer cake, champagne, the works. We were amazed. Most of the guests were adults - undoubtedly friends and colleagues of the parents. Our driver told us he had such a party - bigger, actually - when he turned twelve. It's a common custom here. Not one that we had ever heard of!