SCENES & SIGHTS

Hohhot

Hohhot (meaning "green city") is capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Hohhot Airport, 18km from downtown, operates regular flights to and from Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen Wuhan and Shijiazhuang. The local railway station runs fast through trains to many major cities in China and international trains bound for Moscow and Ulan Bator.

Dazhao Lamasery

The big temple, known as 1h Ju Zhao in Mongolian, was first built in 1579, or 7th year of Wanli reign of the Ming, and is the top ranking and most influential of all the 15 lamaseries in Hohhot.

The Great Mosque

Built in 1693 (32nd year of the Kangxi Reign of the Qing), the mosque is Hohhot's oldest and largest Moslem establishment, which features a typical Arabian dome and elaborate carvings. During Ramandan (fasting month). Local Muslims are allowed to mount the building to marvel at the moon.

Five-Pagoda Temple

Also known as Sarira Pagoda of Diamond Throne, Five-Pagoda Temple was built in 1732, the 10th year of Yongzheng Reign of the Qing, a 16-metre-high structure consisting of five tiny pagodas that are elevated atop a Diamond Throne. It is also known as "Thousand Buddha Pagoda" for the 1,560 relief sculptures of Buddhas carved into the pagoda walls.

Tomb of Princess Zhaojun

The tumulus buried with the remains of Princess Zhaojun takes the shape of a 33-metre-high earth mound. Zhaojun, a Western Han stunning beauty, was married voluntarily to a Xiongnu chieftain to foster fraternity between the Hans and the nomads and win peace for northern borders. Her moving deeds have attracted many tourists to her tomb, 9 km from downtown Hohhot.

Inner Mongolia Museum

The Museum of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, covering a total floor space of 5,000 square meters in downtown Hohhot, features four galleries on nature and history in the region, and development of local civilization.

Baotou:Baotou is a major industrial and tourist city in eastern Inner Mongolia.

Bod Ger (Wudang) Lamasery

The Bad Ger Lamasery is the largest and best-preserved Tibetan-style lamasery in the entire autonomous region. Built during the Kangxi reign of the Qing, it is patterned after the Tashilhunpo Monastery of Tibet, consisting of six main halls, three Living Buddha mansions, a memorial hall and 2,500 rooms.

Mausoleum of Genghis Khan

The mausoleum of Genghis Khan (1162-1227), a pre-eminent 12th-century Mongolian monarch, is found in Ejan Horo Banner. The coffins containing the remains of the Khan and his wife are enshrined in the bedroom palace behind the memorial hall in the center of three interconnected halls in the design of Mongolian yurts. The entire complex is splendidly ornamented and forever enshrouded in the smoke of burning incense sticks offered by pilgrims from around the world. Four grand sacrificial ceremonies are held there every year.

Resonant Sand Bay

The Resonant Sand Bay 45km from Baotou emits a sound like the purring of a car or an aircraft engine whenever someone is sliding down the top of its 90-metre-high slope with a 45-degree gradient. Visitors may also go horseback or camelback riding or enjoy local folk singing and dancing.

Scenic Grasslands

Xilamuren and gegentala, 87km and 145km north of Hohhot respectively, are two major idyllic pasturelands in Inner Mongolia. Similar grasslands are also available in the suburbs of Baotou, Erenhot, Ulanhot, and Hailar, where visitors may go in for horseback or camelback riding, attend folk singing and dancing, and taste roast whole lamb.

Desert Exploration

Kubuqi, Badain Jaran, Tenggeli, Ulanbuh and Maowusu are famous deserts of Inner Mongolia, whose landscape is mystified by a combination of sand dunes, basins, lake, rolling country, and flatlands, a landscape suitable for desert expeditions.

Nadam Festival

Wrestling, horse racing and archery are the three traditional items for Nadam (meaning entertainment or frolicking) the foremost traditional festival for Mongol nomads taking place in July or August. The festival today also includes equestrian polo, horsemanship, track-and-field events, and folk singing and dancing.

Mongolian Folklore Tour

The Mongols are brave and industrious and hospitable. Visitors to a local family are invariably treated to bowls of buttered tea and other dairy products. They live in yurts, a kind or round enclosure with a skylight opened into its domed top. They use a kind of cart fashioned out of birch and elm wood; each weighs 50kg and is enough for a load of several hundred kg. Traditional festivals include "Lesser New Year" (23rd of 12th lunar month), when sacrifices are offered to God of Fire, and "Greater New Year" (Spring Festival), when each family gets together for dinner and pays homage to ancestors.