Grassland pearl

Long known as the "Pearl of the Grasslands," Hailar District is one of the more populated areas in Hulunbuir Grassland and its administrative center.

More than 80 percent of the population is Han people, but respect for Mongols is evident in local policies and in daily life. All street signs are in both Mandarin and Mongolian. The largest newspaper publishes an edition in Mongolian.

Although Mongols in China have adopted some Han customs over hundreds of years, there are still cultural distinctions and taboos that strike visitors.

For example, dogs are loyal partners and friends for nomads, and one must never insult or beat a dog. Of course, dogs are not eaten, as in most parts of China.

Mongols have long believed in Tengriism, a Central Asian religion that combines shamanism, animism, totemism and ancestor worship. Ethnic Mongolians still pray to Munkh Khukh Tengri, the Eternal Blue Sky, and Mongolia (both the region and the country) is sometimes called the land of eternal blue sky. All things in the universe are revered and harmony between man and nature and among men is emphasized.

Visitors need to be sensitive and not show disrespect. For example, fire is especially revered, so it is forbidden to throw trash or cigarette butts into a fire. Do not step on exposed tree roots because that is considered an insult to tree spirits.

Arriving at a nomad's yurt, visitors are treated graciously, and guests are likely to be served noodles instead of meat, as a sign of respect. For people of the grasslands, grain is far more valuable than meat, which is common.

We drove for about 50 minutes from Hailar to a nearby grassland where Mongols reenact the scene of Genghis Khan and his tribe settling down. A dozen Mongolian yurts stand there.

We were welcomed with beautiful songs and three shots of strong rice wine. Before drinking, it is customary to pay respect to the "eternal blue sky" and the ground by first dipping a finger into the wine, rising the finger to the sky, and then point to the ground. The ritual is more elaborate for Mongolians.

The main activity at this destination is the worship of aobao or cairn (man-made piles of rock). Aobao means piles of stones in Mongolian. In the ancient times, when nomads crossed the grassland, they would leave rocks along the way as markers so they could find their way back. Over time more travelers added more rocks, which became tall piles of stones, or cairn, and they took on a religious significance.

Worshipping aobao is a major and serious activity. One picks up a rock from the ground and wraps it with a strip of cloth. One then makes a wish to the cairn and walks around it clockwise three times. The ceremony is finished when the stone is tossed on top of the cairn, adding to the pile of prayers.

At Hailar District, we also visited the World Anti-Fascist War Memorial, built at the site of a sprawling underground Japanese fortification. During 1930s, the area was occupied and fortified as part of Japan-controlled Manchukuo, a puppet state in northeastern China.

Japanese occupiers enslaved and then massacred more than 10,000 Chinese who built five huge underground bunkers in Hailar District. Since all the Chinese involved in the construction, including translators, were killed, it was not known until the 1970s, when the one and only survivor, who was left with one blind eye, told the story.

The highlight of the memorial is a 500-meter-long trip into the underground bunker, whose ceiling is 15 to 20 meters below the surface. The temperature inside is 20 degrees Celsius cooler than on the surface. The dark and eerie underground area includes bedrooms for generals, dormitories for soldiers, cipher rooms, kitchens and toilets, storage space for food and weapons and other spaces. Most of the huge and complex structure has not yet been developed by the district.

The memorial uses hundreds of pieces of sculpture to depict how the allied army of the Soviet Union, China and Mongolia fought the Japanese. The sculpture depicts soldiers, tanks and aircraft.