Mongolia the independent nation and Inner Mongolia a

Mongolia (the independent nation), and Inner Mongolia (a neighboring autonomous region of the People's Republic of China) share a common history and geography, and have both evolved in recent years, centering much of their growth on their famous culture. Mongolia is a young democracy - its 1990 revolution less than 20 years old now - formerly a Soviet-backed communist republic, and much earlier ruled by many different dynasties back to Genghis Khan in 1206. Inner Mongolia continues to undergo a cultural shift as ethnic Han Chinese now make up nearly 80% of the population, and efforts at retaining Mongolian culture are being undertaken. Collected here a number of recent photographs of these two Mongolias.

A Mongol herdsman named Gegenhasi stands in front of his new house to welcome guests in the Huhenuoer Grassland on August 27, 2009 in Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Hulun Buir, with an area of 250, 000 sq km located in northeastern Inner Mongolia, is inhabited by 36 ethnic groups, including Mongolians, Daurs, Ewenkis, Oroqens, and Russian ethnicities. The vast Hulun Buir Grassland is one of the four largest natural steppes in the world. 2009年 8月27日，中国内蒙古呼伦贝尔市呼和诺尔草原，牧民Gegenhasi在他的新居前迎客。呼 伦贝尔位于内蒙古东北部，辖区面积 25万平方千米，境内生活着36个民族，包括蒙古族、达斡尔族、 鄂温克族、鄂伦春族和俄罗斯族。呼伦贝尔大草原是世界四大自然草原之一。

Panoramic view of Lake Khövsgöl in northern Mongolia, from the mountains to the west of the lake, on July 23 rd, 2005年 7月23日，蒙古国，库苏古尔湖(Khövsgöl)全景，湖光山色。

A general view of Eerguna District on August 27, 2009 in Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. 2009年 8月27日，中国内蒙古呼伦贝尔，额尔古纳市全貌。

Girls in a Mongol children‘s chorus perform on August 26, 2009 in Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. 2009年 8月26日，中国内蒙古呼伦贝尔，蒙古儿童合唱团里的女孩们。

A locomotive engine crosses the Sino-Russia border on August 28, 2009 in Manzhouli, Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia, China. Manzhouli is an important gateway for business in Inner Mongolia and receives 60 percent of all of China's trade to and from Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe. 2009年 8月28日，中国内蒙古呼伦贝尔满洲里，火车头穿过中俄边界。满洲里是内蒙古重 要的贸易口岸，吞吐中国与俄罗斯和其它东欧国家贸易量的60% 。

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, and Mongolian President Elbegdorj Tsakhia shake hands during a ceremony marking the 70 th anniversary of the joint victory of Soviet and Mongolian forces in the battle of Khalkin Gol, in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. A monument to Soviet Marshal Zhukov is at the background. 2009年 8月26日，星期三，蒙古国乌兰巴托。俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫（左）和蒙古国总统查 希亚（右）在诺门罕战役胜利 70周年纪念仪式上握手。背景是苏联元帅朱可夫的雕像。

Ruins of Ongiin Khiid monastery complex, destroyed by communist rulers in the 1930 s, seen on October 16 th, 2006. 2006年 10月16日，欧金庙群 (Ongiin Khiid) 废墟遗址，20世纪 30年代毁于共产主 义统治之下。

Detail from a panorama of Ulan Bator, Mongolia on June 6 th, 2009年 6月6日，乌兰巴托全貌一瞥。

Khongoryn Els ("singing sands") sand dunes in the Gobi Desert on August 1 st, 2008年 8月1日，戈壁上的鸣沙山沙丘群。

A sign marking the entrance to the city of Baganuur in Mongolia on July 8 th, 2007. Baganuur is formally a Düüreg (district) of the capital Ulaanbaatar. Geographically it is a separate city located as an exclave on the border between the Töv and Khentii Aimags. 2007年 7月8日，蒙古国巴嘎诺尔(Baganuur)市入口处的标识。巴嘎诺尔是首都乌兰巴托的一个 辖区，但从地理的角度来说，巴嘎诺尔是介于Töv和Khentii Aimags间的一个独立城市。

A train climbs a gentle curve along the Trans-Mongolian Railway on May 17 th, 2009年 5月17日，蒙古大铁路上，火车爬上一段缓坡。

A giant statue of Genghis Khan, 131 feet tall and made from 250 tons of stainless steel sits in Tsonjin Boldog, Mongolia, about an hour outside of Ulan Bator on August 8 th, 2009. The monument is part of a planned theme park called the Chinggis Khaan Statue Complex. 2009年 8月28日，蒙古国，离乌兰巴托半个时辰，一座 131英尺高、250吨重的巨型不锈钢 成吉思汗像矗立在长金博尔多格( Tsonjin Boldog ) ，这座纪念馆是“成吉思汗雕像群”主题公园的一 部分。

A tourist (small, lower right) visits the Nesting-doll Square with more than 200 nestingdoll sculptures on August 28, 2009 in Manzhouli, Hulun Buir League of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. 2009年 8月28日，中国内蒙古呼伦贝尔市满洲里，一名游客（右下方）在竖着200多个塑像的 套娃广场游玩。

Mongolian nomads move to autumn encampments, in Khövsgöl Province, Bürentogtokh sum, Mongolia in September of 2006. 2006年 9月，蒙古国库苏古尔省(Khövsgöl)布拉托尔托赫县(Bürentogtokh)，蒙古牧民迁到秋 季营地。

1993 8 13 日 ， 在 北 边 蒙 古 草 原 和 南 边 的 北 中 国 沙 漠 之 间 ， 额 德 伦 格 山 形 成 过 渡 区 。 The Edrengiyn Nuruu forms a transition zone between the Mongolian steppes to the north and the arid deserts of northern China to the south. August 13, 1999. 年 月

The launch of Shenzhou 7 spaceship, the third human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program, at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Inner Mongolia, China on the night of September 25 th, 2008. 2008年 9月25日晚，中国内蒙古酒泉卫星发射中心，神州七号飞船升空，这是中国空间计划 里的第三次载人航天任务。

A general view of a Russian building on August 28, 2009 in Manzhouli, Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. 2009年 8月28日，中国内蒙古呼伦贝尔市满洲里，一座俄式建筑。

A Genghis Khan statue sits in front of the Parliament Building And Government House At Sukhbaatar Square in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, seen September 17 th, 2008年 9月17日，蒙古国乌兰巴托市苏赫巴托广场，国会大厦和政府大楼前的成吉思汗像。

Genghis Khan's statue is seen in a museum on August 26, 2009 in Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. 2009年 8月26日，中国内蒙古呼伦贝尔市，博物馆里的成吉思汗像。

Bürentogtokh, a district of Khövsgöl aimag, Mongolia, seen in September of 2006. 2006年 9月，蒙古国 库苏古尔省(Khövsgöl)布拉托尔托赫县(Bürentogtokh)。

An Ewenki man named Gugejun walks with two reindeer on August 27, 2009 in Genhe, Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. The Ewenki people, who came from Siberia over three hundred years ago, lived in the mountains of northern China, surviving on hunting and raising reindeer in a traditional way. In 2003, with only 243 surviving members, they moved down to a new settlement built by the government. 2009年 8月27日，中国内蒙古呼伦贝尔根河市，鄂温克人Gugejun赶着两头驯鹿。鄂温克人三 千年前从西伯利亚迁徙至此，居住在中国北部的山区，以捕杀和饲养驯鹿这一传统方式为生。

An Ewenki boy plays at a new settlement on August 27, 2009 in Genhe, Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. 2009年 8月27日，中国内蒙古呼伦贝尔根河市，一名鄂温克小孩在新建的安居点玩耍。

A worker attends a machine in a cashmere factory run by the Gobi Corporation in Ulan Bator, Mongolia on June 27 th, 2009. 2009年 6月27日，蒙古国乌兰巴托，戈壁公司的羊绒 厂里，一名 人在打理机器。

Amarbayasgalant Monastery, in Selenge aimag, Mongolia on July 31 st, 2008年 7月31日，蒙古国色愣格省(Selenge)，阿玛尔巴雅斯噶兰特寺 (Amarbayasgalant)。

Amarbayasgalant Monastery temple, in Selenge aimag, Mongolia, on July 31 st, 2008. The monastery was originally built before 1736, and was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped a wave of destruction by communist rulers in 1937. 2008年 7月31日，蒙古国色愣格省阿玛尔巴雅斯噶兰特寺 。该寺始建于1736年前，是 仅存的几座避开1937年共产主义统治者那轮毁灭的寺庙之一。

Sand dunes near Mongolia's Khar Nuur Lake are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 13 crewmember on the International Space Station in September of 2006. This oblique view captures the dynamic nature of the landscape of Khar Nuur Lake. The lake is encircled by sand dune fields which encroach on the lower slopes of the Tobhata Mountains to the west and south. Gaps in the mountains have been exploited by sand dunes moving eastward (indicating westerly winds) -- the most striking example being a series of dunes entering Khar Nuur Lake along its southwestern shoreline. 2006年 9月，国际空间站第 13期考察组成员拍摄的蒙古国黑湖。这一斜视图拍下了黑湖周围的 流动景观，沙丘把整个湖围成一圈，并且吞噬了Tobhata山脉西向和北向的缓坡。山间的沟壑被西 来（西风）的沙丘掩埋——亮点是西南岸的沙丘带直达黑湖。

A smaller neighborhood of Ulan Bator, seen from a hilllside on June 25 th, 2009. 2009年 6月25日，登山远眺，乌兰巴托旁边的一座小镇。

Contestants prepare their hot air balloons during an international hot air balloon festival in Baotou, north China's Inner Mongolia region on August 13, 2009. About a hundred hot air balloons from eight countries and regions are taking part the first Hot Air Balloon Festival. 2009年 8月13日，中国内蒙古包头市，国际热气球节上，选手在做准备。来自 8个国家和地 区的近 100个热气球将参加首届热气球节。

The gutted former headquarters of the former communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party in Ulan Bator. The building and several others were damaged during a brief riot in 2008 following complaints about a nationwide election about how to share natural resources. 乌兰巴托市，蒙古人民革命党（前共产主义政党）废弃的总部。2008年，由于关于自然资 源分配方式举行的国家公投引发不满，这栋大楼和其它一些建筑毁于一场骚乱。

A general view of Eerguna District on August 27, 2009 in Hulun Buir of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. 2009年 8月27日，中国内蒙古呼伦贝尔市，额尔古纳全貌。

A monument to Jugderdemidiyn Gurragchaa, the first Mongolian cosmonaut, in the center of Choir, a small town in Govisumber Province, Mongolia. Photo taken August 7 th, 2009. 2009年 8月7日，Govisumber省，小镇Choir的镇中心。Jugderdemidiyn Gurragchaa像， 他是蒙古第一位宇航员。

A Mongolian ger, with a sign that says (roughly) “Food, Fast food restaurant, General store”, seen on October 10 th, 2006. 2006年 10月10日，蒙古国，蒙古包外，牌子上写着“餐饮、快餐店、百货铺”。

A view from the monastery at Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, Mongolia. In November of 2006. 2006年 11日，从蒙古国Gorkhi-Terelj 国家公园一座寺庙往远处眺望。