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Why did the Beijing government reduce the size of Inner Mongolia in 1969?

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Wide autumn valley with golden grass in the foreground and low, tree-covered mountains of the Greater Khingan Range in the distance under a clear sky. — Inner Mongolia Da Hinggan (Greater Khingan) Range, southeast of Hailar, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.

In 1969, the Beijing government significantly reduced the size of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region by transferring approximately two-thirds of its territory and nearly half of its population to surrounding provinces and regions, such as Heilongjiang and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.1

This administrative reorganization occurred during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), a period marked by intense political upheaval and deteriorating relations between China and the Soviet Union. By fragmenting the region, the central government sought to tighten control over the frontier and integrate the area more thoroughly into the Chinese state, effectively reversing the expansionist policies of the 1950s. This territorial division served as a mechanism to manage the complex cultural and political loyalties in a region that had become a testing ground for integrating Han and Mongol populations. The 1969 reorganization was eventually terminated in 1979, at which time the detached territories were restored to Inner Mongolia.21