Transportation

HOME INTRODUCTION CLIMATE LIFE CULTURE TRANSPORTATION

Horses are very important to the people of Inner Mongolia. Even today, horses are used for herding livestock, visiting friends, hunting and other important uses. Horses are an integral part of our culture.

Camels are the mode of transportation in winter because sitting between a camel's humps is much warmer than on horseback.

As I mentioned on the "Life" page, Mongols are a nomadic culture. They must move all of their belongings regularly, especialy during winter. Oxen are the traditional animal used to pull Mongolian carts; which are made entirely of heavy wood. Although this form of travel is very slow, the Mongols enjoy its simplicity. Different types of carts are used for different purposes. Box carts are used for storage, manure carts for hauling manure to heat yurts and cook with, passenger carts for going to market, special carts for carrying water and flat carts for moving yurts.

We seldom use buses there. Only for a long travel, such as visitiing Beijing, do we take a bus. When we were in Inner Mogonlia, there was no highway. The road condition was terrible and buses very crowded! It took three days to go from Zhang Jia Co to Cilin Haote (about 620 miles).