Urad

Urad belongs to the dry grasslands north of the great bend of the Yellow River. The Urad Mongols trace their origins to the Hulun Buir country farther northeast. In the early Qing period they moved to the western grasslands and were organised into three banners in 1648. Their monasteries included centres of the Mergen tradition, a Buddhist school distinctive for its use of Mongolian in place of Tibetan.