Its full name is Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,also called Nei Mongol Autonomous Region.It is an administrative region in northern China,bordering on the north by Russia and Mongolia,stretching about 2,650 km in a gigantic arc from northeast to northwest China,one of the largest administrative regions.Much of it is a high,inland plateau fringed with high mountains and river valleys,with typically dry and continental climate: warm summers and very cold, dry winters.In January, the average temperature in the capital Hohhot, located near the center of the region, is -9C (16F);August, 24C (75F). Mongols comprise the largest minority group in Inner Mongolia,but more than 80 percent of the population is still Han,about23,760,000(2000). Hohhot is a commercial and industrial center in this region of grasslands and major defense installations.There is a natural scenery Gobi, extensive desert area of Asia.The first Europeans to traverse the Gobi were Venetian traveler Marco Polo and his father and uncle.