ABSTRACT
Seventy miles west of Ninghsia City, in a small oasis just beyond the Holan Mountains, lies the quaint walled town of Tingyuanying. This town, usually called Wangyehfu by the local inhabitants, rests on a high slope overlooking the steppes, which stretch as far as the eye can see toward Outer Mongolia. The Mongols are organized into approximately 130 banners, each traditionally ruled by a hereditary Prince, or Wang. In normal times, most of these Banners are grouped into thirteen Leagues, each under a chief elected by the Banners themselves, but formally appointed by the Chinese Central Government. The loyalty of all Mongols in China was suspect because the Japanese had set up a puppet Mongol regime in north China. Education, for example, is almost nonexistent—one reason being that Mongols consider education “bothersome,” according to members of the Banner Government. The Chinese Communists moved into Kalgan when the Russians moved out, and they then established an Inner Mongolian Autonomous Association.
