The Inner Mongolia Library holds one of the most important collections of Mongolian-language materials in the world — historical manuscripts, printed books, and archival documents in the traditional vertical script that was used for Mongolian writing from the 13th century onward. The collection includes rare Buddhist texts translated from Tibetan and Sanskrit into Mongolian, historical chronicles, and literary works that document the full range of Mongolian cultural production over seven centuries.
The library is a working public library and access to the manuscript collections requires advance arrangement, but the main reading rooms and the permanent exhibition on Mongolian written culture in the entrance hall are open to visitors. The exhibition includes examples of the most important Mongolian script styles, explanations of how the alphabet works (it derives ultimately from the Syriac script, transmitted through Uyghur), and samples of the major texts in the collection. For anyone with an interest in linguistics, writing systems, or Mongolian cultural history, this is a more interesting stop than it might initially appear.