This is a study of modern Mongolian identity by an author of mixed Mongolian-Chinese parentage from Inner Mongolia. On a trip to Mongolia, Bulag encountered prejudice by locals, who considered him Chinese, not Mongolian. This personal experience prompted this study. Bulag examines the difference and tension between a narrow subethnic-based nationalism and a more open, pan-Mongolianism, and how past political history, current geopolitics, and socialist and capitalist development have influenced both types of identity. He discusses how under Soviet-sponsored socialist development, the Hahl ethnic group became institutionalized as the authentic Mongolian identity, thus marginalizing all other Mongolian ethnic groups in the country. Bulag also discusses the racialization of Mongol identity evident in the public discourse on the Mongolian blue spot, perceived rise in the incidence of mental retardation, and use of the category of 'half-breed' (ERLIIZ) to describe Inner Mongolians. Bulag argues that in the past, hybrid groups were able to form their own clans and thereby remain part of the tribe. However, no equivalent mechanism exists today. Invoking the work of Salman Rushdie, Bulag advocates for the future of a hybrid Inner Mongolian identity, one situated between Mongolia's racialized identity and China's Han-centric Chinese identity.