4Sleeping
Hohhot is pretty well provided with hotels at the top end, but at the budget end things look fairly miserable. Your best bet for lower midrange accommodation is in express chain hotels, such as Jǐnjiāng Inn.
Āndá GuesthouseHOSTEL$
(安达旅馆; Āndá Lǚguǎn MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %159 475 19807, 0471 691 8039; www.andaguesthouse.com; middle section of Qiaokao Xijie; 桥靠西街中段 dm/d with shared bathroom ¥60/180; iW)
This rather average place thrust down a charmless alley has compact five-bed dorms and uncomfortable, cluttered doubles. The bathrooms could be cleaner, but there’s a small lounge, kitchen facilities and a cute courtyard. Staff are eager to show off Mongolian culture and organise trips to the grasslands, as well as to the Kubuqi Desert and Naadam. With little competition, it's set in its ways.
Jǐnjiāng InnHOTEL$$
(锦江之星; Jǐnjiāng Zhīxīng MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0471 666 8111; www.jinjianginns.com; 6 Xinhua Dajie; 新华大街6号 s ¥169-239, d ¥249; aiW)
This large, pleasant and snappy branch of the ultra-efficient chain hotel is located in a tower, with very clean if somewhat characterless rooms. The hotel has a very decent restaurant attached; breakfast is an extra ¥18.
Inner Mongolia HotelHOTEL$$$
(内蒙古饭店; Nèi Měnggǔ Fàndiàn MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0471 693 8888; www.nmghotel.com; Wulanchabu Xilu; 乌兰察布西路 r from ¥1480; aiWs)
Despite competition from upmarket Western and Asian chains, this 14-storey high-rise is still one of Hohhot's best, featuring fine renovated rooms with big comfy beds, a pool and a health centre. You can dine Mongolian-style in concrete yurts out back and the cafe-bar is an elegant and restful place for afternoon tea or an evening cocktail. Discounts of 60% outside the peak summer season.
Shangri-La HotelHOTEL$$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0471 336 6888; www.shangri-la.com; 5 Xilin Guole Nanlu; 锡林郭勒南路5号 d ¥1388, ste ¥4588; naWs)
The exemplary, 365-room Shangri-La should really tick all your boxes: five-star service, amazing rooms, a stunning 25m pool and some lovely restaurants. It's a sumptuous choice: the lobby floor is plated in lush acres of the smoothest, most beautifully coloured marble and staff are always on hand to help. It's often possible to get large discounts.
PRICE RANGES
SLEEPING
The following prices are for a double room with shower or bathroom.
$ less than ¥200
$$ ¥200–¥400
$$$ more than ¥400
EATING
The following price ranges indicate the cost of a main course.
$ less than ¥30
$$ ¥30–¥50
$$$ more than ¥50
5Eating
An excellent selection of Mongolian and Chinese restaurants can be found down Huang Jie (黄街; Yellow St), which is lined with about 40 small eateries. A standout Mongolian choice north of Xinhua Sq in the centre of town is Grandma.
oGrandmaMONGOLIAN$
(格日勒阿妈; Gérìlè Āmā MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0471 333 0055; www.gerileama.com; Xilin Guole Beilu; 锡林郭勒北路 mains from ¥12; h7am-2pm & 5-9pm; W)
Overlooked by a portrait of Genghis Khan, diners love this colourful, fun and vibrant upstairs restaurant that does a roaring trade. There's a huge variety of Mongolian specialities to choose from, including sweet cheese (¥10), camel meat pie (¥12), cheese mooncakes (¥12), roast lamb ribs (¥68 per jīn), steamed lamb and veggie dumplings (¥7 per portion) and handmade yoghurt (¥12).
oXiānbáichéng Gǔtāng Hélè MiànNOODLES$
(鲜百诚骨汤饸饹面 GOOGLE MAP ; cnr Wutasi Nanjie & Wutasi Xijie; 五塔寺南街五塔寺西街的路口 noodles from ¥10; h24hr)
This place does huge, filling and scrumptious bowls of delicious and appetising buckwheat noodles, with large chunks of beef or pork and free cold Chinese vegetable dishes by the counter. There's also cheap beer.
Wanda MallFOOD HALL$
(万达广场; Wàndá Guǎngchǎng Xinhua Dongdajie; 新华东大街 dishes from ¥15; h10am-10pm)
The glossy Wanda mall, diagonally opposite the museum, has a clutch of Chinese restaurants on the top floor serving everything from noodles to hotpots and more.
oNana's CafeINTERNATIONAL, MONGOLIAN$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Huang Jie; 黄街 dishes from ¥24; h10am-2pm)
Head through a blue wooden door up to the second level for this cute cafe serving pasta, salad, dumplings and a range of Western dishes. Pair your meal with coffee (big mugs), beer or salty Mongolian milk tea. The cafe converts to a bar come evening. At the time of writing, the owners were set to occupy the ground floor too.
Dàndàn TóngguōshuànMONGOLIAN, HOTPOT$$
(旦旦铜锅涮 MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0471 662 1062; 9 Sanshiwuzhong Xiangnei; 三十五中巷内9号 mains from ¥40; h6.30am-11pm)
The lighting in this fine traditional Mongolian hotpot restaurant is a bit intense, but the menu's sure-fire. Choose from spicy (辣; là) or mild (清淡; qīngdàn) broth, or a yuānyāng (鸳鸯; hot one side, non-spicy the other) pot into which you scald your beef and lamb strips and piles of mushrooms, potatoes and other veggies.
7Shopping
Souvenir ShopsGIFTS & SOUVENIRS
(表记店铺; Biǎojì Diànpù MAP GOOGLE MAP )
Opposite Dà Zhào monastery, this Qing-era-look street is packed with stalls selling Mongolian tat, jade and Buddhist and Mao memorabilia.
8Information
Bank of ChinaBANK
(中国银行; Zhōngguó Yínháng GOOGLE MAP ; Xinhua Dajie; 新华大街 h9am-5pm Mon-Sat)
Has a 24-hour ATM.
China PostPOST
(中国邮政; Zhōngguó Yóuzhèng GOOGLE MAP ; Chezhan Dongjie; 车站东街 )
Exit-Entry Administration BureauPOLICE
(出入境管理处; Chūrùjìng Guǎnlǐchù %0471 669 9318; www.hhhtga.gov.cn; 1 Chileichuan Dajie, 敕勒川大街1号 h8.30am-noon & 2.30-5pm Mon-Fri)
For visa extensions and other enquiries. The foreign-affairs bureau is to the left of the main building, outside the gated compound.
Inner Mongolia People's HospitalHOSPITAL
(内蒙古自治区人民医院 GOOGLE MAP ; %0471 662 0000; www.nmgyy.cn; 20 Zhaowuda Lu; 昭乌达路20号 )
8Getting There & Away
Air
Hohhot Baita International Airport is 15km east of the city. Daily flight destinations (routes are reduced in winter) include Běijīng (¥500), Xī’ān (¥800), Hǎilā’ěr (¥1300), Mǎnzhōulǐ (¥1000) and Shànghǎi (¥1350). Book flights on www.elong.net or www.ctrip.com, or go to (or contact) the Civil Aviation Administration of China (中国民航公司; CAAC; Zhōngguó Mínháng Gōngsī GOOGLE MAP ; %0471 696 4103; Xilin Guole Lu; 锡林郭勒路 ) office.
Bus
Hohhot’s main bus station (长途汽车站; chángtú qìchēzhàn GOOGLE MAP ; %0471 696 5969) is next door to Hohhot Train Station.
ABāotóu ¥40, two hours, every 30 minutes (7am to 7pm)
ABěijīng ¥150, six to eight hours, 8.30am, 10.10am, 1.30pm, 3.50pm and 5pm
ADàtóng ¥80, four hours, hourly (7.20am to 4.30pm)
ADōngshèng ¥65, three hours, every 30 minutes (6.30am to 7.25pm)
AErenhot (Èrlián) ¥95, five hours, 8am, 8.20am, 8.50am, 12.30pm and 1.30pm
ALiángchéng ¥35, two hours, hourly (7.10am to 5.20pm)
Train
Hohhot has two train stations: Hohhot Train Station (呼和浩特火车站; Hūhéhàotè Huǒchēzhàn) and Hohhot East Train Station (呼和浩特东站; Hūhéhàotè Dōngzhàn), around 9km to the east. Most useful trains leave from Hohhot Train Station. Sleeper tickets are hard to come by in July and August; hotel travel desks can book them for a ¥30 commission. From Hohhot, trains go to the following destinations:
ABāotóu ¥22 to 25, two hours, regular
ABěijīng hard seat/hard sleeper ¥75/142, six to 11 hours, regular
ADàtóng seat ¥37 to ¥44, three to four hours, 12 daily
AErenhot (Èrlián) hard seat ¥54, hard/soft sleeper ¥146/222, 8½ hours, 9.58am and 11.52pm
AXilinhot seat/hard sleeper ¥91/169, 9½ hours, 7.20pm and 9.14pm
AYínchuān seat/hard sleeper ¥93/174, 10 hours, three daily
BORDER CROSSINGS: GETTING TO MONGOLIA
Two direct trains run between Běijīng and Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, on Wednesday and Saturday at 11.22am. The trains are the Chinese-owned K3 (hard/soft sleeper/deluxe ¥1222/1723/1884, 30 hours) and the Mongolian-owned K23 (hard/deluxe sleeper ¥1259/1849). You need to buy tickets from CITS (China International Travel Service) in Běijīng, not from the train station. The same train stops in Erenhot (二连浩特; Èrliánhàotè; hard sleeper ¥130, 10½ hours), at the Mongolian border. Erenhot is listed on Chinese train timetables as Èrlián (二连).
There are also five daily buses from Hohhot to Erenhot (¥95, six hours), leaving between 8am and 1.30pm; as they depart more regularly, buses are more practical than the train, although the overnight train at 11.52pm is very useful. From Erenhot you can catch a jeep across the border (about ¥60) and continue to Ulaanbaatar on the daily 5.50pm local train.
A train also runs from Hohhot to Ulaanbaatar on Monday and Friday, leaving at 10.50pm and taking 30 hours. Two trains run from Hohhot to Erenhot: the 6856 (hard seat ¥54) departs at 9.58am and arrives in Erenhot at 6.28pm; the overnight T4202 (hard/soft sleeper ¥146/222) from Bāotóu leaves Hohhot at 11.52pm, pulling into Erenhot at 6.40am.
To fly from Hohhot to Ulaanbaatar, you need to go via Beijing, where Air China (¥2500) and Aero Mongolia (¥1630) have flights to Ulaanbaatar. Book online at www.ctrip.com. Flights can be reduced in winter.
For a Mongolian visa, go to the Mongolian Consulate (蒙古领事馆; Měnggǔ Lǐngshìguǎn %0471 492 3819, 0471 468 5161; Unit1, Bldg 5, Wulan Residential Area, Sai Han District; 赛罕区乌兰小区五号楼一单元 h9am-noon Mon, Tue & Thu) in Hohhot. The 30-day visa costs ¥260 and takes four days to process. A rush visa (¥495) can be obtained the following day. US citizens do not need a visa to visit Mongolia for visits of up to 90 days; for citizens of Israel, it's 30 days visa-free. To find the consulate, travel east on Daxue Dongjie, turn left on Dongying Nanjie and look for the consulate 200m on the left. Go early.
There is also a consulate in Erenhot (蒙古领事馆; Měnggǔ Lǐngshìguǎn %0479 753 9201, 0479 753 9200; 1206 Youyi Lu, Erenhot; 友谊路1206号, h9am-noon & 3-5pm Mon-Fri). To find the consulate from the bus station, walk half a block east to the T-junction and head left. Walk north along this road (Youyi Lu) for 10 minutes until you see the red, blue and yellow Mongolian flags on your left. A 30-day rush tourist visa (¥495) can be obtained the next day.
8Getting Around
The airport bus (¥15, 40 mins) runs from 5.30am to the last flight. Between 10am and 10pm, the bus runs every half an hour, less regularly outside those hours. There are three lines, but the most useful route for travellers is line 1, which runs in a loop along Xinhua Dongjie, then north to the train station before heading east along Beiyuan Dongjie (北垣东街) back to the airport. You can pick it up at the train station. Lines 2 and 3 runs into town via Hohhot East Train Station. A taxi to the airport will cost ¥50 (flag fall ¥6).
Useful bus routes include bus 1, which runs from the Train Station to the old part of the city past Zhongshan Xilu, and bus 33, which runs east on Xinhua Dajie from the Train Station. Buses 19 (¥1) and 83 (¥1) run to the East Train Station.
Around Hohhot
Bái TǎPAGODA
(白塔; White Pagoda ¥35)
In the middle of the fields, 7km east of the airport (about 22km from Hohhot), is Bái Tǎ, a striking seven-storey octagonal tower built during the Liao dynasty. A steep, double-barrelled staircase leads to a small shrine room at the top. Few travellers come here, so you will feel like you have the place to yourself.
A taxi from Hohhot will cost around ¥70 return.
XīlāmùrénAREA
(希拉穆仁; Xīlāmùrén admission ¥80)
This grassland area caters largely to the burgeoning domestic market, with dozens of faux concrete yurt camps and a commercialised feel in pockets that robs some of it of a true wilderness experience. But it's a huge area, so you can eke out that true grassland feel if you explore. Go in summer, otherwise the grass will be brown and patchy. Activities are provided by horse rides; meals (principally lamb) are available, but are pricey. About 90km north of Hohhot.
For a really authentic Mongolian grassland experience, Āndá Guesthouse in Hohhot will set you up at the home of a local family, where you get to pick your own dried cow dung to light a campfire! Day trips start from ¥290 (including one meal) or ¥390 for an overnight trip (including three meals). Horse riding is an extra ¥100 per hour. The guesthouse also offers multiday tours which cover Bái Tǎ, Wǔdāng Lamasery, the Kùbùqí desert and sections of the Great Wall at Liángchéng.
Shàngdū 上都
%0479 / Pop 83,000 (Zhènglánqí)
The 'very fine marble palace' described by explorer Marco Polo and eulogised and immortalised by poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge as a 'stately pleasure-dome' is today little more than a vast prairie with vague remnants of its once mighty walls, but it continues to have an allure that is far greater than the sum of its remaining parts.
Today Xanadu, or Shàngdū (上都) as it was actually called, is accessed via the small gateway town of Zhènglánqí (正蓝旗).
Conceived by Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis and the first Yuan emperor, Shàngdū’s lifespan as the summer capital was relatively brief. Construction of the city started in 1252 and lasted four years, serving as Kublai Khan's summer palace away from his palace in Zhongdu (Khanbaliq), the Yuan dynasty capital in today's Běijīng. Shàngdū was overrun and destroyed by Ming forces in 1369.
Shàngdū actually consisted of three distinct cities: the outer city, the imperial city and the palace city. All that is visible now are the outer and inner walls, which are ticketed (admission ¥30). The site was listed as a Unesco World Heritage site in June 2012.
From the yurt where you buy your ticket, it’s another 1.5km to the outer walls (a golf buggy will take you for ¥10 or you can rent a bicycle for ¥10). From there, you can walk another 500m to the inner ramparts. Paths through the wildflower-covered grassland that has swallowed up the city offer the chance for pleasant strolls and reflective musings on the vagaries of history.
Xanadu MuseumMUSEUM
(上都博物馆; Shàngdū Bówùguǎn admission ¥20; h8am-5pm Tue-Sun)
Zhènglánqí’s Xanadu Museum is very important to visit for the scale models that give a realistic impression of the sheer ambition of Shàngdū, as well as for relics from the site, including ceramics, statues and decorative and structural pieces of the original palace, which crucially put the ancient complex into context.
4Sleeping & Eating
Jiādì Shāngwù BīnguǎnHOTEL$
(佳帝商务宾馆 Shangdu Dajie; 上都大街 tw ¥200; W)
This modern business-style hotel towards the west end of Shangdu Dajie has clean and OK rooms. Expect to get reasonable discounts.
188 Liánsuǒ BīnguǎnHOTEL$$
(188 连锁宾馆 %0479 423 9188; Jinlianchuan Dajie; 金莲川大街 r ¥188-588; aW)
This fresh place has very clean and spacious rooms in a building right next to the bus station.
8Information
On Shangdu Dajie, you’ll find a branch of the ICBC bank with a 24-hour ATM that takes foreign cards; it's near the corner with Zhiyou Hutong. At the time of writing there was no Bank of China in town, so make sure you bring enough cash.
8Getting There & Away
Although Shàngdū signifies distant wonders in the Western imagination, in truth it’s not that isolated (275km northwest of Běijīng). But it does feel remote, partly because of the huge empty prairie it sits in, and also because getting here requires some effort. Hohhot's bus station has buses to Zhènglánqí (¥132, six to seven hours, 7am and 2pm), also ju
st known as Lánqí (蓝旗). From Zhènglánqí it’s about a 20km taxi ride (¥170 return) to Shàngdū. Buses return to Hohhot at 7am and 12.30pm.
Bāotóu 包头
%0472 / Pop 2.73 million
The largest city in Inner Mongolia, booming Bāotóu (包头) is no oil painting, sprawling across more than 20km of dusty landscape, much of it an industrialised smear. However, if you’re heading to the Wǔdāng Lamasery and Genghis Khan’s Mausoleum, you may find yourself passing through and maybe stopping for a night.
1Sights
Wǔdāng LamaseryBUDDHIST SITE
(五当召; Wǔdāng Zhào admission ¥45; h8.30am-4.30pm)
Lying on the pilgrim route from Tibet to Outer Mongolia and established in 1749, at its height this handsome monastery was the largest monastery in Inner Mongolia, housing 1200 monks belonging to the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Numbers are down to around 60 resident monks today, but Wǔdāng's numerous outlying buildings, occupied by local villagers, are a reminder of its former importance. Climb the steps leading up the hill opposite the car park for views of the complex and across the prayer-flag-draped landscape.
A little compound beside the public toilet has basic beds (¥50, no showers) and home-cooked meals if you wish to stay the night.
Lonely Planet China Page 183