扬眉吐气

到了内蒙古，你会常常听到人们用“羊煤土气”来描述当地的工业发展和特色，这是什么梗呢？其实，“羊煤土气”是成语“扬眉吐气”的谐音。该成语的意思是扬起眉头，吐出怨气，形容人摆脱长期受压状态后高兴痛快的样子。比如：“ 在这次比赛中，他终于击败了原来的冠军，真是扬眉吐气。”

When visiting Inner Mongolia， you mighthear the phrase “yang （sheep） mei （coal）-tu （earth）qi （gas）” to describe the region’s key industries andnatural resources. But what makes this phrase special？In fact， it plays on a well-known Chinese idiom， “yang（raise） mei （eyebrows）-tu （exhale） qi （sigh of relief），”which conveys the joy and pride felt after overcominga long-standing challenge. For example， you mightsay， “In this competition， he finally defeated thereigning champion — what a moment of yangmeituqi！”

在内蒙古，人们乐于用“扬眉吐气”的谐音“羊、煤、土、气”四个字来指代自己家乡的自然资源。具体来说，“羊”指的是羊绒，尤其是闻名天下的内蒙古鄂尔多斯羊绒；“煤”指煤炭资源，内蒙古的煤炭资源储量在亚洲乃至全世界都名列前茅；“土”指稀土，全国83.7%、全球37.8% 的稀土资源，都在内蒙古的包头市；“气”指的是天然气，内蒙古的天然气储量同样极为丰富。

In Inner Mongolia， the four homophonicwords yang， mei， tu， qi are cleverly adaptedto showcase the region’s natural wealth. Yangrefers to world-famous Ordos cashmere. Meihighlights Inner Mongolia’s vast coal deposits，some of the largest in Asia and the world.Tu stands for rare earth minerals， with InnerMongolia holding 83.7% of China’s and 37.8%of the world’s reserves， largely concentrated inBaotou. Lastly， qi refers to the region’s abundantnatural gas resources.

事实上，内蒙古不仅拥有这些优质资源，还通过长期的努力与发展，有效治理了土壤荒漠化、草场沙漠化等环境问题，并且积极调整工业结构，大力发展新产业；在发展经济的同时，极大地改善了生活环境，真正完成了从“羊煤土气”到“扬眉吐气”的华丽转变。

Over the years， Inner Mongolia has not onlycapitalized on these resources but also madesignificant progress in tackling environmentalchallenges like desertification and grasslanddegradation. The region has also restructuredits industries， promoting new sectors. Byfocusing on economic growth while improvingthe environment， the region has experienced itsown moment of pride — its own yang， mei， tu，qi — driven by sheep， coal， earth， and gas.