CHANGES OF THE SENSE OF PLACE FROM NOMADISM TO FIXED GRAZING IN THE NORTHERN PASTORAL AREAS OF CHINA: A FIELD RESEARCH ON DAMAO BANNER, INNER MONGOLIA

CHEN Chen; CHENG Lin

doi:10.13959/j.issn.1003-2398.2025.03.005

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HUMAN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2025, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (3) : 42-49. DOI: 10.13959/j.issn.1003-2398.2025.03.005

CULTURE

CHANGES OF THE SENSE OF PLACE FROM NOMADISM TO FIXED GRAZING IN THE NORTHERN PASTORAL AREAS OF CHINA: A FIELD RESEARCH ON DAMAO BANNER, INNER MONGOLIA

CHEN Chen¹, CHENG Lin²

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Abstract

Researches on the sense of place in grassroots society mainly focuses on the experiences and facts of agricultural societies. Additionally, studies on the changes of the nomadic environment in northern pastoral areas focuses on the livelihood difficulties, community disintegration, and ecological degradation issues since the reform of the grassland property rights system, and have not yet paid attention to the individual internalized emotional psychology, such as emotions, memories, and practices, as well as the changes in the sense of place triggered by them at the micro level. Taking Damao Banner in Inner Mongolia, which has undergone the reform of grassland property rights system, as an example, and putting in field investigation in the context of changes of the nomadic living environment, this study investigates how grassroots herders in northern pastoral areas construct and reconstruct the sense of place through emotions, concepts, psychology, and life experiences. Results indicate that ①During the period of the People's Commune, herders continued to construct an orderly nomadic space and a stable and enclosed symbiotic acquaintance social relationship through nomadic practices. ②The privatization of grassland property rights has accelerated the fragmentation of pastoral society and the pulling and restructuring of social relationships. ③In the modern context of modernization without nomadic life in practice, "nomadism" has become a cultural symbol sealed in the memories and traditional rituals of herders.

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sense of place / nomadism / fixed grazing / the northern pastoral areas of China

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CHEN Chen, CHENG Lin. CHANGES OF THE SENSE OF PLACE FROM NOMADISM TO FIXED GRAZING IN THE NORTHERN PASTORAL AREAS OF CHINA: A FIELD RESEARCH ON DAMAO BANNER, INNER MONGOLIA[J]. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY. 2025, 40(3): 42-49 https://doi.org/10.13959/j.issn.1003-2398.2025.03.005

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