Domain and influence of Xiongnu under Modu Chanyu around 205 BC
Asia in 200 BC, showing the early Xiongnu state and its neighbors
Persian miniature depicting Genghis Khan entering Beijing
Yellow line indicates the territory under Qin empire (the dynasty prior to Han).
The territory of Han empire (dark orange) before Emperor Wu's reign, the new territory (bright orange) conquered during Emperor Wu's reign (r. 141–87 BC), and combined the largest expansion under Emperor Wu's reign (outlined with wide brown line).
Plaque in the shape of a grazing kulan (wild ass), 2nd–1st century BC, Northwest China, Xiongnu culture.
The Northern Yuan at its greatest extent
Chinese ceramic statues of cavalry and infantry, wearing armour and bearing shields (with missing weapons), from a Western Han tomb, Hainan Provincial Museum
A traveling nomad family led by a man in belted jacket and trousers, pulling a nomadic cart. Belt Buckle, Mongolia or southern Siberia, dated to 2nd-1st century BC (Xiongnu period).
Mongolia plateau during early 17th century
Ceramic statues of a prancing horse (foreground) and a cavalryman on horseback (background), Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD)
The Han dynasty world order in AD 2.
Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia within the Qing dynasty, c. 1820
A scene of historic paragons of filial piety conversing with one another, Chinese painted artwork on a lacquered basketwork box, excavated from an Eastern-Han tomb of what was the Chinese Lelang Commandery in modern North Korea
Xiongnu among other people in Asia around 1 AD.
Mongols stand in front of a yurt, 1912
Emperor Wu dispatching Zhang Qian to Central Asia from 138 to 126 BCE, Mogao Caves mural, 618–712 CE.
Bronze seal of a Xiongnu chief, conferred by the Eastern Han government. Inscribed 漢匈奴/歸義親/漢長 ("The Chief of the Han Xiongnu, who have returned to righteousness and embraced the Han"). Seal, impression, and transcription in standard characters.
Delegates of Inner Mongolia People's Congress shouting slogans
Emperor Wu sent ambassadors to the Dian Kingdom in Yunnan. Bronze sculpture depicting Dian people, 3rd century BCE.
Belt hook depicting an animal fight, Xiongnu, 200-100 BC, bronze. Östasiatiska museet, Stockholm.
Inner Mongolian steppes
Ceramic figurines of soldiers, both infantry and cavalry, Western Han period, Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an
Southern and Northern Xiongnu in 200 AD, before the collapse of the Han Dynasty.
Topography of Inner Mongolia in China
Detail of the gilded incense burner given by Emperor Wu to Wei Qing as an imperial gift; Shaanxi History Museum
Xiongnu cauldron, Eastern Han
Winter in Ulanbutan Grassland, Hexigten Banner
The story of Jin Midi. Wu Liang Shrine, Jiaxiang, Shandong province, China. 2nd century AD. Ink rubbings of stone-carved reliefs as represented in Feng Yunpeng and Feng Yunyuan, Jinshi suo (1824 edition), n.p.
Location of Xiongnu and other steppe nations in 300 AD.
Theater in Hohhot
An embroidered rug from the Xiongnu Noin-Ula burial site. This luxury item was imported from Bactria, and is thought to represent Yuezhi figures.
Inner Mongolia Gymnasium
Belt plaque in the shape of a kneeling horse, 3rd-1st century BCE, gilded silver, made in North China for Xiongnu patrons.
Muslim-themed Street in Hohhot
Belt Buckle, 2nd-1st century BCE, Xiongnu. Another naturalistic belt buckle made to the Xiongnu taste, showing a mounted warrior frontally, holding a dagger and grabbing the hair of a demon who is also attacked by a dog. Also appears a nomadic cart pulled by reindeers, and another dog on top of the cart.
A KFC in Hohhot, the capital, with a bilingual street sign in Chinese and Mongolian
Xiongnu Leather Robe, Han period, Henan Provincial Museum, Zhengzhou
Inner Mongolian carpet c. 1870
Xiongnu bow
Temple of the White Sulde of Genghis Khan in the town of Uxin in Inner Mongolia, in the Mu Us Desert. The worship of Genghis is shared by Chinese and Mongolian folk religion.
Belt plaque with design of wrestling men, Ordos region and western part of North China, 2nd century BC, bronze - Ethnological Museum, Berlin.
Sign of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Belt buckle with three Ibexes, 2nd-1st century BC, Xiongnu. Chinese foundries made bronze belt plaques to the taste of the Xiongnu, who preferred designs of real animals in naturalistic settings. These plaques have typically been excavated in Xiongnu tombs of the 1st century BC.
Jade dragon of the Hongshan culture (4700 BC – 2900 BC) found in Ongniud, Chifeng
Belt buckle with animal combat scene, 2nd-1st century BCE, made in North China for the Xiongnu. These plates were inspired by the art of the steppes, but the design was flattened and compressed within the frame.
Ulaanbutan grassland
Belt Buckle with nomadic-inspired zoomorphic design, manufactured in China for the Xiongnu. Mercury-gilded bronze (a Chinese technique). North China, 3rd-2nd century BC.
Inner Mongolian grassland
2nd century BC – 2nd century AD characters of Xiongnu-Xianbei script (Mongolia and Inner Mongolia).{{sfn|Ishjamts|1996|p=166, Fig 5}}
Honorary tomb of Wang Zhaojun (born c. 50BC) in Hohhot
2nd century BC – 2nd century AD, characters of Xiongnu-Xianbei script (Mongolia and Inner Mongolia).{{sfn|Ishjamts|1996|p=166, Fig 5}}
Fresco from the Liao dynasty (907–1125) tomb at Baoshan, Ar Horqin
"Pastoralist expansion into Mongolia ca. 3000 BCE, and by the Late Bronze Age, Mongolian populations were biogeographically structured into three distinct groups, all practicing dairy pastoralism regardless of ancestry. The Xiongnu emerged from the mixing of these populations and those from surrounding regions".
Khitan people cooking. Fresco from the Liao dynasty (907–1125) tomb at Aohan
Remains of the city Khara-Khoto built in 1032. Located in Ejin Khoshuu, Alxa Aimag
Uniparental haplogroup assignments by group and sex-bias "z" scores of Xiongnu.
Maidari Juu temple fortress ({{zh|labels=no |c=美岱召 |p=měidài zhào}}) built by Altan Khan in 1575 near Baotou
Newly built arch in front of the Maidari Juu temple fortress (1575)
Da Zhao temple (also called Ikh Zuu) built by Altan Khan in 1579
Badekar Monastery (1749) near Baotou, Inner Mongolia. Called Badgar Zuu in Mongolian
Five Pagoda temple (1727) in Hohhot
Badain Jaran temple (1868) in western Inner Mongolia
Genghis Khan Mausoleum (1954)
Genghis Khan Mausoleum (1954)
Alshaa mountain scenery
Alxa Western Monastery (Alshaa Baruun Hiid) built in 1756

The Xiongnu were also active in areas now part of Siberia, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang.

- Xiongnu

Emperor Wu successfully repelled the nomadic Xiongnu from systematically raiding northern China, and dispatched his envoy Zhang Qian into the Western Regions in 139 BC to seek an alliance with the Greater Yuezhi and Kangju, which resulted in further diplomatic missions to Central Asia.

- Emperor Wu of Han

Before the rise of the Mongols in the 13th century, what is now central and western Inner Mongolia, especially the Hetao region, alternated in control between Chinese agriculturalists in the south, and Xiongnu, Xianbei, Khitan, Jurchen, Tujue, and nomadic Mongol of the north.

- Inner Mongolia

During the Western Han dynasty, Emperor Wu sent the general Wei Qing to reconquer the Hetao region from the Xiongnu in 127 BC. After the conquest, Emperor Wu continued the policy of building settlements in Hetao to defend against the Xiong-Nu.

- Inner Mongolia

The Han dynasty made preparations for war when the Han Emperor Wu dispatched the Han Chinese explorer Zhang Qian to explore the mysterious kingdoms to the west and to form an alliance with the Yuezhi people in order to combat the Xiongnu.

- Xiongnu

For example, one such official, Yi Zong (义纵), became the governor of the Commandery of Dingxiang (part of modern Hohhot, Inner Mongolia) and executed 200 prisoners, even though they had not committed capital crimes; he then executed their friends who happened to have been visiting.

- Emperor Wu of Han
Domain and influence of Xiongnu under Modu Chanyu around 205 BC

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A map of the Western Han dynasty in 2 AD
Principalities and centrally-administered commanderies

Protectorate of the Western Regions (Tarim Basin)

Han dynasty

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Imperial dynasty of China , established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu.

Imperial dynasty of China , established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu.

A map of the Western Han dynasty in 2 AD
Principalities and centrally-administered commanderies

Protectorate of the Western Regions (Tarim Basin)
Thirteen direct-controlled commanderies including the capital region (Yellow) and ten semi-autonomous kingdoms of the early periods, 195 BC
Belt Buckle with nomadic-inspired zoomorphic design, manufactured in China for the Xiongnu. Mercury-gilded bronze (a Chinese technique). North China, 3rd-2nd century BC.
Map showing the expansion of Han dynasty in the 2nd century BC
The ruins of a Han-dynasty watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang, Gansu province, the eastern edge of the Silk Road.
These rammed earth ruins of a granary in Hecang Fortress, located ~11 km (7 miles) northeast of the Western-Han-era Yumen Pass, were built during the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and significantly rebuilt during the Western Jin (280–316 AD).
Situation of warlords and peasant forces at the beginning of Eastern Han dynasty
Eastern Han inscriptions on a lead ingot, using barbarous Greek alphabet in the style of the Kushans, excavated in Shaanxi, 1st–2nd century AD
Preserved arrow, Western Han
A late Eastern Han (25–220 CE) Chinese tomb mural showing lively scenes of a banquet (yanyin 宴飲), dance and music (wuyue 舞樂), acrobatics (baixi 百戲), and wrestling (xiangbu 相撲), from the Dahuting Tomb, on the southern bank of the Siuhe River in Zhengzhou, Henan province (just west of Xi County)
A mural from an Eastern Han tomb at Zhucun (朱村), Luoyang, Henan province; the two figures in the foreground are playing liubo, with the playing mat between them, and the liubo game board to the side of the mat.
Brick Relief with Acrobatic Performance, Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE)
Detail of a mural showing two women wearing Hanfu silk robes, from the Dahuting Tomb of the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 CE), located in Zhengzhou, Henan
Han period inscribed bamboo-slips of Sun Bin's Art of War, unearthed in Yinque Mountain, Linyi, Shandong.
A fragment of the Xiping Stone Classics; these stone-carved Five Classics installed during Emperor Ling's reign along the roadside of the Imperial University (right outside Luoyang) were made at the instigation of Cai Yong (132–192 CE), who feared the Classics housed in the imperial library were being interpolated by University Academicians.
A silk banner from Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan province. It was draped over the coffin of Lady Dai (d. 168 BCE), wife of the Marquess Li Cang (利蒼) (d. 186 BCE), chancellor for the Kingdom of Changsha.
A part of a Daoist manuscript, ink on silk, 2nd century BCE, Han Dynasty, unearthed from Mawangdui tomb 3rd, Changsha, Hunan Province.
An Eastern-Han bronze statuette of a mythical chimera (qilin), 1st century CE
A scene of historic paragons of filial piety conversing with one another, Chinese painted artwork on a lacquered basketwork box, excavated from an Eastern-Han tomb of what was the Chinese Lelang Commandery in Korean Peninsula.
A rubbing of a Han pictorial stone showing an ancestral worship hall (cítáng 祠堂)
Animalistic guardian spirits of day and night wearing Chinese robes, Han dynasty paintings on ceramic tile; Michael Loewe writes that the hybrid of man and beast in art and religious beliefs predated the Han and remained popular during the first half of Western Han and the Eastern Han.
The Gansu Flying Horse, depicted in full gallop, bronze sculpture, h 34.5 cm. Wuwei, Gansu, China, AD 25–220
A mural showing chariots and cavalry, from the Dahuting Tomb (Chinese: 打虎亭漢墓, Pinyin: Dahuting Han mu) of the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD), located in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China
Gold coins of the Eastern Han dynasty
A Han-dynasty iron ji (polearm) and iron dagger
A gilded bronze oil lamp in the shape of a kneeling female servant, dated 2nd century BC, found in the tomb of Dou Wan, wife of Liu Sheng, King of Zhongshan; its sliding shutter allows for adjustments in the direction and brightness in light while it also traps smoke within the body.
An array of bronze bells, Western Han dynasty
Ornamental belt buckle, decorated with Chinese mythical creatures. Chiseled and hammered gold, late Han period.
The physical exercise chart; a painting on silk depicting the practice of Qigong Taiji; unearthed in 1973 in Hunan Province, China, from the 2nd-century BC Western Han burial site of Mawangdui, Tomb Number 3.
A pair of stone-carved que (闕) located at the temple of Mount Song in Dengfeng. (Eastern Han dynasty.)
A pair of Han period stone-carved que (闕) located at Babaoshan, Beijing.
A stone-carved pillar-gate, or que (闕), 6 m (20 ft) in total height, located at the tomb of Gao Yi in Ya'an. (Eastern Han dynasty.){{sfnp|Liu|2002|p=55}}
An Eastern-Han vaulted tomb chamber at Luoyang made of small bricks
A Han-dynasty pottery model of two men operating a winnowing machine with a crank handle and a tilt hammer used to pound grain.
A modern replica of Zhang Heng's seismometer
An early Western Han dynasty silk map found in tomb 3 of Mawangdui, depicting the Kingdom of Changsha and Kingdom of Nanyue in southern China (note: the south direction is oriented at the top).
An Eastern Han dynasty pottery boat model with a steering rudder at the stern and anchor at the bow.

From the reign of Emperor Wu ((r.

The Han dynasty is known for the many conflicts it had with the Xiongnu, a nomadic steppe confederation to the dynasty's north.

The oldest known surviving piece of paper with writing on it was found in the ruins of a Han watchtower that had been abandoned in AD 110, in Inner Mongolia.