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It's hard to tell where exactly the extensive land of Chilechuan was located due to the lack of records. But, throughout history, the Yinshan Mountains have held geographical and strategical importance. Extending more than 1,200 km east-west in central Inner Mongolia and northern Hebei province, they marked the boundary of subhumid and semiarid climates and delineated the divide between agricultural and nomadic civilizations.
Hence, war, trade and cultural integration all took place here. Portions of the Great Wall and border towns were built across dynasties. Artifacts that blend multiple cultural styles were discovered. Lines of poetry were passed down.
Over the years, Zhang Wenping, director of Hohhot's institute of cultural relics and archaeology, which was founded in the regional capital of Inner Mongolia in November, has been studying the northern nomadic tribes that historically thrived in Hohhot, once called Shengle.
In 258, the Xianbei tribes settled along the banks of the Dahei River and built the ancient city of Shengle as their winter base. The regime later established its capital there, gradually campaigned southward, and eventually founded the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), ruling over some core parts of the Central Plains region and actively promoting cultural integration.
The Chile tribes were also known as Gaoche, named for the large-wheeled carts they used to travel through tall grass, thick snow and marshlands. Following their defeat by the Xianbei people in the early 5th century, the Chile nomads served as border guards for the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) around the Yinshan Mountains area, situated north of its agricultural zones, Zhang explains.
