Hohhot Travel Guide: Grassland Capital

Hohhot (呼和浩特) is the capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region - a city of about 3 million people sitting on the southern edge of the steppe, roughly 400 km north of Beijing. It is the easiest base for travelers who want to stand on actual grassland without crossing the border into Mongolia.

It is also, pleasantly, a place almost nobody visits. Prices are low, crowds are thin, and the temples here are working temples, not museum pieces.

Why Hohhot?

Real steppe access in a day. Xilamuren Grassland (希拉穆仁草原) sits about 90 minutes north of the city. Standing on it with nothing but sky and grass in every direction is the thing most visitors remember.

Mongolian culture is not a staged show. Unlike a folk performance in a Han Chinese city, Hohhot's temples, museum and restaurants are run by Mongolians. The Naadam festival (那达慕) in July and August is the real thing - wrestling, horse racing, archery.

Genuinely good eating. Hohhot is one of northern China's best cities for hand-pulled noodles, buuz (蒙古馅饼, steamed mutton pies) and mutton that tastes like grassland sheep.

Cheap and uncrowded. Two days is enough. Tickets are ¥20-35, the airport is 20 minutes from downtown, and nobody hurls you into a tour group unless you ask.

Getting There

High-speed rail is the main event. Hohhot East station (呼和浩特东站) sits on the Beijing-Baotou line. Book on 12306 or trip.com.

• From Beijing North (北京北): 2h 20m, about ¥90-150 ($13-21)
• From Beijing West (北京西): 2h 40m, more departures, mostly 8-car sets
• From Datong (大同): 1h 30m on the same line, roughly ¥60-90 ($8-13)
• From Jinan (济南): 4h, ¥150-200 ($21-28)
• From Xi'an: overnight sleeper train is cheaper than the daytime HSR

Flying into Hohhot Baita (呼和浩特白塔机场). The airport is 17 km out, about 25 minutes by taxi, ¥30-40 ($4-6). International service is thin - Hong Kong, Bangkok, a handful of others - so most Western travelers connect through Beijing or a Chinese gateway city.

Buses leave from the long-distance terminal for Baotou (包头, 1.5h) and Ulanqab (乌兰察布, 2h), useful if you are continuing north by road.

Must-See Attractions

Dazhao Temple (大召寺)

Hohhot's largest and most active Buddhist temple, founded in 1579. ¥35 ($4.90), 1-1.5 hours. The star is the silver Buddha (银佛) in the main hall - 1.5 meters tall and plated in roughly 100 kg of pure silver, cast in the 17th century. Arrive by 9 AM; coach groups swamp the inner courtyards from 10 onward.

Five Pagoda Temple (五塔寺)

Also called the Buddhist Porcelain Pagoda (金刚座舍利宝塔). A 16th-century stupa shaped like a golden upside-down bell, clad in 1,562 glazed Buddha tiles. ¥20 ($2.80), 45-60 minutes. It is genuinely small - go for the tile work and the 20,000-volume sutra library, then leave.

Inner Mongolia Museum (内蒙古博物院)

China's largest museum by floor area, and free with your passport. ¥0, 2-3 hours. The must-sees are the nomadic gold crowns, steppe horse burials with intact saddles, and a walk-in yurt (蒙古包) reconstruction. Closed Mondays.

Xilamuren Grassland (希拉穆仁草原)

The famous one, a full-day trip about 90 minutes each way. Packages run from ¥80 to ¥400 ($11-56) for what is often the same drive. See the Xilamuren Grassland guide for the honest version.

Practical Tips

Xilamuren is touristy. Know that before you book. It is a day-trip zone of horse-riding photo ops, a row of yurt restaurants, a zip line, and cattle wandering between them. The genuinely vast grassland is 600-1,000 km further north near the Mongolia border along the Grassland Tourism Road (草原旅游公路), which takes days to reach and costs real money. Treat Hohhot as the gateway, not the payoff.

Get the grassland package in writing. Prices range from ¥80 to ¥400 for essentially the same van and the same grass. The expensive end means activities are bundled in - horseback riding, archery, ATV, Mongolian wrestling. Ask for the itemised list, and check whether the price includes an entry ticket and lunch or only the ride out and back.

Mongolian barbecue is the point. Mengyang Barbecue (蒙古烤肉) and the small mutton joints along Xinhua Street are where locals eat. Order 手把肉 (hand-held boiled mutton) and 烤羊腿 (roast lamb leg) for the table. ¥60-100 ($8-14) feeds two people properly.

Winter is a different trip. December to February drops to -20°C. The grassland turns white and Dazhao's ice sculptures go up, which is a legitimate reason to come - but do not book a grassland day trip expecting green.

The old town is walkable. Dazhao, the Five Pagoda Temple and the Qingzhen Mosque all sit within 2 km of each other. A taxi across town is ¥10-15 ($1.50-2).

Language note: signs in Inner Mongolia are usually bilingual Chinese and Mongolian script, and Mongolian often comes first. Most young people speak some English; older people may not.