Xilamuren Grassland (希拉穆仁草原) Day Trip

Xilamuren Grassland (希拉穆仁草原) is the grassland everyone comes to Hohhot for. It is 90 minutes north of the city, it is genuinely open in every direction, and if you have one free day in Inner Mongolia, this is the standard way to spend it.

It is also a day-trip zone, not wilderness. Know that before you book, and you will probably still enjoy it.

What You Actually Get

A van from Hohhot, roughly 90 minutes each way along good road. On arrival: a ticket gate, a stretch of grassland with a fence line and a road running through it, a cluster of yurt restaurants, a horse-riding ring, a zip line, an ATV track, and a stage for performances.

The grass is short and the ground is not level, which is why horseback riding is the main draw. Mongolian herders still use this land, and riding across it is genuinely good even with a fairly placid horse.

Packages and Prices

The range is enormous and the differences are mostly cosmetic.

• ¥80-150 ($11-21): transport only, or transport plus the site entry ticket
• ¥200-300 ($28-42): adds a yurt lunch and a horse ride of 20-60 minutes
• ¥350-400 ($49-56): adds archery, ATV, Mongolian wrestling, and a short performance

Ask for the itemised list in writing, in Chinese, before you get on the van. Confirm whether the price includes the site entry ticket, lunch and the riding - the horse ride is sometimes billed separately at the site, at a higher rate than advertised.

Book through your hotel or a known Hohhot travel operator. The touts around the long-distance bus station and the railway station quote the same trip cheaper on paper, then sell extras at the far end.

Practical

Full day, roughly 8:00 AM to 6:00-7:00 PM, so you lose the evening. Go June to September for green grass; July and August bring the Naadam festival (那达慕) with wrestling and horse racing.

Bring sun protection and a windbreaker - it is exposed, and the wind picks up fast in the afternoon. Cash is preferred at the yurt restaurants and the riding ring.

If you want the real thing - grassland to the horizon, no fences, no stalls - it is 600-1,000 km further north along the Grassland Tourism Road (草原旅游公路). That is a separate multi-day trip, not a day excursion.