Inner Mongolia University

Inner Mongolia University in Hohhot was founded in 1957 as the first comprehensive university established in a Chinese autonomous region. It is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Initiative, teaching the sciences, ecology, Mongolian studies, economics, law and the humanities. Its grassland ecology and animal science are distinctive strengths, developed for the Mongolian steppe. That environment closely resembles northern and central Kazakhstan, and the problems the university studies — pasture degradation, livestock management, desertification and water scarcity — are Kazakh problems. For a student from a pastoral or agricultural region of Kazakhstan, that match matters more than the university's national ranking. Lanzhou and Northwest A&F address arid crop agriculture; this one addresses grassland and livestock. Hohhot living costs are among the lowest in China, and the region borders Mongolia and Russia rather than Kazakhstan.