 During the Second Sino-Japanese War, when his father was leading the Inner Mongolian resistance against Japanese invasion, Buhe lived in the Communist base area of Yan'an, where he studied at Northern Shaanxi Public School and then Yan'an Nationalities College from 1939 to 1946.He joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1942.After the surrender of Japan, the Communists took control of north China and Ulanhu became the founding chairman of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 1947.