Are ethnic mongols in Inner Mongolia culturally closer to China or Mongolia?
Well, they are Mongols in the nation of China. Contrary to what many Westerners believe, China is not a homogenous nation ethnically. There are many ethnic groups in China, which in Mandarin are referred to as Zhonghua Minzu. When Westerners talk of a Chinese ethnic group, they are talking of something which doesn’t really exist in Chinese. They mean the Han people, who are the largest ethnic group in China. But Zhonghua Minzu includes Han, Mongolians, Tibetans, Manchu, and many more groups. It is interesting to note that there are more Mongolians in China than in (Outer) Mongolia.
