Ujumchin Tribe and East Ujumchin Banner 

The Ujumchin is an ancient tribe of Mongolia. Tolbot, Genghis Khan's 16th generation descendent,
migrated from the Hangai Mountain to the south of the Gobi Desert. Ongondular, Tolbot's the
youngest son, began to call his tribe Ujumchin, which means the people of the Grape Mountain,
because that was their ancestral homeland before the migration.
During the Tai Zhu years of  Late Jin, Dorji, the head of the Ujumchin tribe, lead his tribe to
the Keluren River due to his dispute with Linden Khan, who was the ruler of the Mongol Tribes
at the time. In the first year of Cong De (1636), the Ujumchin tribe submitted to the Qing Dynasty.
In the third year of  Shun Zhi (1646), Ujumchin was divided into two banners, Left and Right Wing
Banners. The governor of the Left Wing Banner stayed at Kuisutolohai stand at the bank of Orhu
River (Ulagai River). In 1934 Ujumchin joined the Xilingol League.
In 1945, Dorji Khan, the head of  Ujumchin Left Wing Banner, led half of the banner's population
to the vicinity of the Keluren River in Outer Mongolia after his defeat by the army of Ulanhu, who later
became the first governor of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The descendents of Dorji Khan
and his followers still lived in the same area in Outer Mongolia today. In 1946, the Left Wing Banner
of Ujumchin was named East Ujumchin Banner. After the liberation, East Ujumchin Banner maintained
and developed its traditional animal husbandry. Since 1991 it has been the top county in China in
terms of live-stock number.
East Ujumchin Banner is located in the northeastern part of Xilingol league and Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region. It is 850 kiloneters from Beijing, the capital of "Cnina". It covers an area of
47,326 square kilometers and has a population 57,000, of which 38,000 being Mongolian.
The eastern part of East Ujumchin is higher than the western part by topography. The Greater Hinggan
Mountain is the main mountain, with a height of 1,500 meters at its Boged Peak. The major rivers are:
the Ulagai, the Seileji, the Hailestai and the Narin (Narrow) Rivers. There are many lakes and springs
in East Ujumchin.
East Ujumchin is famous for its rich water resources and fertile pastures. The annual average temperature
is below 0 (C), which is well-suited for raising live-stock. Cultivation of land was forbidden throughout
history until 1969, when the Ulagai Cultivation District was established. After then, large areas of land
began to be cultivated with great damage to the environment.
After graduation from the Art School attached to the Central Academy of Fine Arts, I went to
Ujumchin as an educated youth along with 400 middle school graduates from Beijing in November
1967. I lived in Mantugbolog, East Ujumchin for 12 years.
The vast and beautiful prairie and the peaceful Narin (Narrow) River has been the constant destinations
of my dreams and the never-ending source for my creative inspiration since I left there in 1980.
( to view photos)  

Map of the Ujumchin Steppe (2007)

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Map of the Ujumchin Steppe ( East Ujumchin Banner )  ( 1968 )

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