Population and Concept in Mongolia (I)

It may be that China has a large area and a high population base, so there is no clear concept of Mongolian territory and population. List the figures first: 1.5 million square kilometers of land, there are more than 3.2 million people living, with an average of more than two people living per square kilometer. Do you feel that the picture is still a little thin? Let's compare several countries. Look at Japan first: a long and narrow island country with a land area of less than 380,000 square kilometers and a population of nearly 654.38+25 million, with an average of about 328 people per square kilometer; Look at the big European countries, Germany and France: Germany is less than 360,000 square kilometers with a population of less than 83 million, and France is less than 680,000 square kilometers with a population of nearly 67 million. Is this a strong sense of picture? Mongolia's area is several times that of these countries, but its population is less than a fraction of these countries. This is a truly vast and sparsely populated place.

For the development of the country, too much or too little population is probably not good, too much is too heavy a resource burden, and too little is not conducive to development. This is the case in Mongolia. Too few people can't support the domestic market, and similarly, the labor force can't support its social development.

So, talk about the labor force. A small population means that labor resources will not be sufficient. Although Mongolia has a high proportion of young adults, the quality and quantity of labor force are not high. We know that animal husbandry in Mongolia has always occupied a major position since ancient times, and relying solely on animal husbandry is not enough to build a modern society. Take infrastructure as an example. Mongolians are very bad here. Many unfinished high-rise buildings can be seen in the capital, mainly because it is too cold to carry out construction in winter. In fact, these jobs are mainly done by foreign workers, of course, mainly from China. On the one hand, Mongolians are unwilling to do it, on the other hand, it is too inefficient. Stop work, drink more wine, make trouble and have an accident, and the project can't go on at all. A colleague said that there are two buildings near where we live. One building has not been completed in half for several years, and the other building will be completed in less than a year. The former is a local contractor in Mongolia, and the other is a contractor in China (of course, the reason why it was not completed within one year was that the personnel sent by the contractor in China were limited, and it was necessary to ensure that nearly half of the Mongols participated). In addition, in the Gobi mining area where I work, almost all the construction is done by China people, and the participation of Mongolians is almost negligible. An example can also illustrate the problem. The Mongols built a new airport runway on the spot, and even the link of reporting to the management for inspection was omitted. In addition, the management company didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just a runway and didn't need any supervision. As a result, people said that they were dumbfounded at first sight when they were almost finished, and the runway was pitted and could not be used. Finally, I found a contractor in China to rebuild it. Yes, everyone thinks it's a simple job.

Most Mongolian women at the scene are quite fat (haha, it should be euphemistic and plump). It seems that another feature is that many faces of Mongolian women look bigger. Of course, due to different aesthetic concepts, the beauty in the eyes of Mongols may be quite different from that in our eyes. I asked some Mongolian men at the scene, and they generally like fuller women. There are several Mongolian female colleagues in our office, which is this type. Sometimes people make fun of their bodies. Seeing that they often eat snacks in the office, they will ridicule to lose weight. They are not angry, but they may be used to it and seem indifferent. These people are all educated, and most of them who can speak Chinese have studied in China, and most of them have studied in Hohhot. Maybe Inner Mongolia is closer to their culture. Once, I met a beautiful Mongolian girl who was not plump at all and had a good figure ratio. It's almost a year since she came back from studying in England. She is fluent in English with a British accent. What other Mongolians say is far from her. I have a good attitude towards learning. I will ask questions I don't understand, instead of pretending not to understand. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before she was transferred back to the Beijing office.

Fashionable Mongolian modern women

Due to the influence of social development and western culture, Ulaanbaatar is an open and fashionable city. There are fewer people wearing traditional Mongolian robes on the street, either elderly herders or some children, and of course there are people who prefer traditional costumes. This young man accounts for the vast majority of the city. They are dressed in fashion and all kinds of elements coexist. It was winter when I was in UB, so the clothes I saw were rather monotonous. After all, it was so cold that it was very important to save your life.

It is said on the Internet that there are many foreign backpackers in Mongolia, mainly from May to August, so I have never seen them. Our OT site is about 500 kilometers away from the capital, which is not too long in China. The high-speed train takes two or three hours at most, even if it takes a bus, it will take six hours. But after all, this is Mongolia, and it is definitely not that simple. From the Gobi desert to the capital, there is no special asphalt road, almost all of them are dirt roads. Plus the winding road, mobile navigation can't use it. First, there is no signal. Secondly, smart phones are not popular today (I used Nokia at that time, but many people around me used Apple 4 or 4s), and GPS services could not keep up. So it takes an old driver a day and a half to drive by land. Except for bulk cargo transportation by land, few people drive to UB, so the plane is the first choice to travel between UB and OT. Of course, there are exceptions to everything. It is said that the big boss chartered a helicopter to go there for a grand celebration. For example, on the day I flew to UB, a man also drove to UB. When I arrived at UB, I complained a lot. There are few and small towns on the road. I have to find some hot water to make instant noodles and bring gasoline in case there is no oil on the road. Although the air conditioner is on, I still feel very cold in the car. Of course, there is also a Mongolian tour guide in the car. The reason for driving there is that the capital needs an extra car. When I flew from OT to UB, the plane was very small that day. After getting on the bus, I feel that the capacity is similar to that of a bus. There were very few people on that flight. It was almost ten people, so I just took a seat at random. Because the plane is too small, it encounters a slightly stronger airflow at high altitude, and the plane bumps badly. Because it has never met such a small plane, I am still nervous when it bumps violently. Fortunately, it was a near miss, and it took less than an hour to get to the capital. Before returning to China in July, I heard a foreigner say that he was going to take a vacation soon and planned to fly to UB. Then, from there, together with two or three friends, he rented a camel and hired a local guide to start a journey of more than ten days. From UB to OT, along the way, the Gobi Desert is the main one, with grasslands and Mongolian villages. Of course, there are many wild animals, such as wolves, which is a bit of a wilderness adventure. Everyone admires his courage. Finally, I left the scene and didn't go back. I don't know whether the trip will take place.

I photographed camels in the South Gobi Desert.

In fact, Mongolia has now developed into a pluralistic society. In the process of social development, we will inevitably encounter many problems, which may be experienced by some countries or brand-new problems faced by our own country. Anyway, we should look at the problem from the perspective of development and take the road that suits us. What outsiders see and hear may not really reflect the problem. "But, through these clouds, how do I know which corner of the mountain it is facing?" . Ha, I don't know what to say again.