User talk:DaMMKiwi

Information On Chifeng City inner Mongolia China
I am a Kiwi ( New Zealander) who has lived here in the chifeng area for four (4) years and noticed that there was a lack of general information about this area.

Chifeng Inner Mongolia

Chifeng is a city of contrast, in age, in culture and in economy Age: It is the home of the Hong Shan culture, said to be the the first organised culture of the world the people built houses etc. and lived in a community 8,000 years ago.. On Hong Shan mountain Or Red Mountain they have built a replica of what it would have looked like.at that time.. Chifeng was once the centre of the Liao dynasty 1000 years ago. Relics from this dynasty are still being found. East of Chifeng is a historical site called Xin Long Wa said to be the first village of China.

Today Chifeng it is a modern go ahead city, with high rise buildings along side a 100 year old housing.. it is the centre of business for the area, and has a large manufacturing industry, to mention a few; Solar water heating, solar power panels, lights etc. Pharmacutical companies (2) that are exporting a large amout of product. Breweries for beer and Baijiu (Chinese white spirit from 35 to 65 %) There is a complete new city being built with wide open spaces parks and all mod cons, the buildings very clean and very modern. Shopping you can find anything you want regarding food, the same as you would in a western super market, fruit and vegetables fresh every day all year round. Even Peanut butter. (Australian) If you spend the time you can find what ever you want. But be prepared to bargain every where except the super market those prices are set. But most times you can bargain down 10 to 20%. Street markets 50%., Clothes what ever your fashion. There is a great bus service 1 RMB will take you as far as you want to go on that bus, taxis 5 RMB for the first 5 kilometres then 1.20 RMB every kilometre from then on, all main streets are four lane, side streets can be very narrow,. The hotels vary as per the amount of stars, a three star hotel double room with on suite 120 RMB a night at time of writing, 4 star the same 200 RMB a night Four star usually has a elevator, 3 star, stairs.

Restaurants, What ever you want, western (expensive for here) but what ever your taste it is here. Mongolian hot Pot, Xinjiang Bar B Que mutton, Sichuan taste (very hot Chilli) Beijing duck etc. Most times an average price is 20 RMB per person including drinks.

The Chifeng area is also the home of some thing called “Balin Stone”” a multi coloured stone that is used for carving. Some pieces have natural paterns that you think some one must painted. And the carving has to be seen to be believed. The most expensive colour being a deep red or Chicken blood stone.

Farmers grow grain maize, millet. Sorguhm, buck wheat, and food crops vegetables for sale locally as well as for sale in other centres Most farmers have maybe maybe 1 hectare (2,4 acres) and that is a large area. Very little modern equipment, they still use Donkey’s and Mule’s for plowing etc, but small tractors are starting to appear. The country side of Chifeng varies greatly, from vast grass lands to mountains, from crop lands to the grass lands and sheep, cattle and horses of the Mongol herdsmen. This is where the culture difference becomes apparent. The Mongol people have a very rich culture of song and dance thousands of years old. A mongol welcome has to be experienced to understand but briefly They will play the Morren Khuur (Ma tuo Qin Chinese) (horse head fiddle English) and sing to that person being welcomed. They will present you with a cup of Wine (spirit) with which you bless the three elements ( the earth, the sky, and friendship) you then drink. This happens three times then they will place a Haadar around your neck ( a silk scarf usually white but some times blue) The Mongol herdsmen are still a nomadic people following the herds over spring summer and autumn on the grass lands. Although now they have more mod cons, such as vehicles and solar power, Tv’s etc in their yurts. They still use the same type of yurt that has been in use for thousands of years. Made from felt and horse hair. Horses are still a major part of the Mongol cultur. Especially Ma Nai Jiiu horse milk spirit any thing from 10 to 50%. The horse is also used for every day work.

The grass lands are vast but not all flat there is a lot of hills plus some areas of forest. I have found the Mongolian people are very open, honest and welcoming. There are areas of man made desert, where during the Cultural revolution Chinese farmers where sent there to grow crops. Only in this type of country you just can’t do that. The soil is very light and during spring it is home to some very strong winds, sub sequently the top soil was blown away leaving nothing but sub soil and sand.. they are now trying to reclaim this country by planting trees shrubs etc.

During June, July there are the Nadam meetings Basically a sports meeting where the Mongols take part in horse racing, mongolian wrestling, archery usuing the traditional mongol bow which in it’s day was as powerful as some of the modern compound bows 60 t0 70 lb pull., song, dance and music.. generally a big party.

The roads system is fantastic, with four lane express ways to most places all very new, These are all toll roads, but it is worth travelling on them just for the time saving and comfort of travel.. There are good bus services to most areas, although at times busses can be crowded ( not even standing room) especially to the smaller villages on the out skirts. But as a foreigner, the Chinese people will give up their seat for you even older women.

Tourism To the north west of Chifeng is an area called Asihatu Stone Forest. Granite out crops on the top of high hills, carved into fantastic shapes by the last ice age. Qishan stone mortar mountain Mortars carved into the granite on the top of montains by the last ice age. To the west is ke shi ke teng an area of grass land, were there are a number of sites to visit. Dali Nour ( Dali = Lake) a large number of migratory birds nest here over the summer, including swans. The Xilamulun river a place to relax do a bit of rafting. the river is considered the mother river by the people of this area and further north. The dragon spruce or sandy land spruce that grows on the sand land at Bai yin a’bao The Wulan Butong grass land. The site of the last major battle between the Mongol people and the Ming dynasty. Here there is also at certain times of the year, for those steam locomotive enthusiasts, A steam locomotive that travels on the second highest railway in the world. ( the Tibet railway now being the highest) This is fantastic trip in winter, snow for miles over the grass lands, then you disappear into the mountains. There are good hotels in most towns, even smaller towns the hotels are clean tidy and with western style WC. On the grass lands there is motel type accommodation staying in Yurts that have a full ensuite attached, all rooms have TV and tea making facilities. Or you can really get into the nomadic life style and stay with a working Mongol family. Do not expect showers or  WC. This is basic living.But the food is great. Here the cooking is done on a cow dung fire, one of the women's jobs is to take a basket and collect dry cow dung. It burns very hot and these fire places are quite unique, having one side for a permanent big wok and the other side for a large kettle. The main food for these people is milk products, yoghurt, cheese, butter, clotted cream, milk tea and mutton Breakfast will consist of a bowl of yoghurt with millet clotted cream some cheese and a spoon of sugar mixed then eaten, followed by some cold mutton from the night before and gallons of milk tea, into which some will put pieces of mutton fat. For major feasts the Mongols will spit roast a whole mutton, (head and all) and it is a very special occasion where before eating starts the mutton is blessed. At these feasts you will hear the real singing of the mongol people. The normal songs, the “Long Song” and the most special the “Throat Song” this last is the true Mongol sound, lonely, haunting and accompanied by the Morren Khuur, some thing that has to be heard, add to this the dancing and it is a night to remember.

Climate. The climate in Chifeng is typically continental Dry cold winters, some snow and temps down to minus 15 Coldest I have experienced is minus 20., Spring windy with dust storms from March to May, one or two a month. over this period. May; The rains start Local thunder storms and some heavey rain but again very localised. Temps start getting to the low 20’s. Summer Can be hot plus 30 temps up to 40  July, August being th warmest months. Some summer thunder storms. Autumn dry and cooling off October you will see ice DaMMKiwi (talk) 06:25, 6 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks for sharing the experience. Some of this should certainly go to the article page, but try to find some reliable sources, try to get a certain distance to the topic (i.e. be "encyclopedic"), and keep on separating claims and fact (i.e. "there are [add number here] nomadic herders in the area of the city " vs. "The Hongshan culture is said to be the first culture that started to build houses 8,000 years ago "). Data on the climate can probably found from some weather website, descriptions of tourist sites may be picked from travel guides etc.


 * I personally would prefer Mongolian spellings for Mongolian names (Xilamulun = Shira mören?), accompanied by Chinese characters and of course pinyin. Some of the info on cuisine etc. seems to belong primarily to articles like Cuisine of Mongolia etc. Anyway, there is a lot of work still undone, an expansion of the Chifeng page and maybe the creation of pages on the stone forest and other sights would certaily be a good thing. Yaan (talk) 10:23, 7 June 2008 (UTC)