ADVENTURE

Inner Mongolia moods: mutton to majestic landscape and music

Our Inner Mongolia guide from what's hot in Huhhot to business in Baotou, from grasslands adventures and mutton dressed as, well, mutton, to the best Baotou hotels to park your dusty self unless you prefer a yurt. Also see our Hulunbuir grasslands guide.

by Helen Dalley
updated by staff reporters Jan 2026

SEE ALSO Hulunbuir grasslands reindeer guide | Shanghai shopping | Guilin | Sanya guide | Hangzhou| Qingdao fun | Shenzhen business hotels | Hongkong foodies guide | Tokyo guide | Seoul | Tashkent | Almaty hotels | Bishkek

Farmer carries a sloshing pail across the endless grassland to his yurt after milking his cows. Inner Mongolia's rugged majesty is accessible but changing fast as highways snake and large cities sprout.

JUMP TO Hohhot and Baotou | China visa and Tour Operators |Hotels and Excursions | Dining is all Mutton

AROUND 1211 the most eminent Mongol of them all, Genghis Khan, caused quite a ruckus, invading China on horseback before ransacking much of Europe. Things have quietened down considerably since. Yet, almost 800 years on, his memory is very much alive and kicking in Inner Mongolia, China. Shrines to the great warrior are still proudly displayed in that Mongolian icon, the yurt, and while the mausoleum in Dongsheng contains mere memorabilia rather than a body, or bones (the Khan requested his final resting place to remain unknown), ceremonies are held here every year to honour his memory. His memory has served to fuel commerce too, and Genghis souvenirs, including stern bronze statues and vivid wall hangings depicting triumphant battles, dominate souvenir stores, and market stalls.

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While the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator is rapidly losing its rustic identity to western-themed bars – even the Irish pubs have moved in – and restaurants, the same cannot be said of Inner Mongolia’s biggest cities. Situated in the south of the region due north-west of Beijing are the capital Hohhot (also Huhhot), and Baotou, the largest urban centre. Further north is the area’s big attraction, the Hulunbuir grasslands, vast green prairies framed by deep blue skies and gently sloping hills. While they attract a steady footfall of tourists (mostly Chinese with a dash of Japanese, Koreans and Western travellers) particularly during the summer months when they are at their greenest, they have not yet been entirely consumed by tourism — though domestic visitors have mushroomed — and the further north you go, the less populated and more legitimate your experience will be despite the intrusion, or convenience, of immaculate highways.

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It would be misleading to assert that Huhhot and Baotou are beautiful cities, yet while they may lack the glamour or charm of other places in China, they possess that ‘on-the-brink-of- something-big’ feel that so many Chinese cities display. Hohhot (as the city is now more commonly spelled) is the headquarters of dairy giants Mengniu and Yili, and sleek new housing estates are springing up almost every few steps. Baotou is also an important hub as China’s chief producer of rare earth, an important component in the manufacture of technological devices such as TVs and mobile phones.

Inner Mongolia has big hopes for its future. “We are trying to promote it as a relaxing getaway for stressed-out Beijingers looking for a change of scene on the weekend,” says a former international chain hotel general manager I spoke with some 20 years back. He lived off and on in the Middle Kingdom for the last 20 years. “Huhhot feels like a small mid-western town with a very friendly atmosphere," he said. "As I’m from Kansas, it suits me fine.” In 2026 his words sound prescient as the city has expanded vastly and those 'stressed-out Beijingers' have arrived en masse.

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Getting to Hohhot and Baotou

The easiest way to get to Inner Mongolia is via Beijing. Flights from the Chinese capital to Hohhot Baita International Airport (soon to be overtaken by the Hohhot Shengle International Airport) take around 45 minutes. International and regional flights come in from Shanghai, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur too. Arriving visitors are greeted with big skies that frame the sturdy mountains, and sharp, clean air.

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Visas and Inner Mongolia tour operators

Being part of China, Inner Mongolia’s currency is the renminbi, so there are no worries about changing your cash to some obscure currency. The exchange rate is US$1 = Rmb6.97. If you don’t have someone from your hotel coming to pick you up from the airport at Hohhot, then don’t fret, as it’s not an expensive deal. The city is only 15km away and the taxi trip will cost Rmb30-Rmb50 in a taxi. Baotou is almost as accessible as Hohhot from Beijing. A taxi ride downtown from the airport will also cost around the same amount.

As with the rest of the Mainland, a China visa is required to get into the country, which can be arranged through a travel agent. The biggest travel agent is China International Travel Service (www.cits.net), which can also arrange trips around Inner Mongolia. For other tour operators who cover the area with a range of itineraries, Travel China Guide lists several registered companies. China Discovery does a good job with detailed private tour packages as does the long running Silk Road Travel. For many, a trusted local travel agency is Chaolu.

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Hohhot and Baotou hotels and excursions

When you visualize Mongolian accommodation, you can’t help but think of yurts, those emminently portable cylindrical-shaped tents once used by nomads to move around the great prairies to find grazing for their herd. The locals, incidentally, mostly live in stone or concrete structures these days, and the yurts seem more for the eyes of curious tourists, certainly near the cities. Luxury hotels are arriving and there is no dearth of comforts at better class city hotels.

The 365-key Shangri-La Huhhot (www.shangri-la.com/huhhot) brought a new level of luxury in 2008 and continues to refresh and reposition itself despite having graduated to a gracious old-timer. While standard 38sq m Deluxe Rooms will get the job done, 48sq m Horizon Club Premier Rooms up the ante with marbled bathrooms, soaking tubs and grand views. This was the first genuine international five-star in Hohhot and is situated near the commercial centre overlooking a swathe of green that is Qingcheng Park. The hotel has one of the city’s largest ballrooms, with a floor space of over 1,600sq m.

The massive landmark 1,000-room Inner Mongolia Jinjiang International Hotel in Hohhot appears to have morphed into the Grand New Century Hotel Inner Mongolia (innermongoliajinjiang.cn). The InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) runs the family-friendly Holiday Inn Express Hohhot East Station (www.ihg.com/hohhot), as well as the businesslike Crowne Plaza Hohhot City Centre. Or pop into the Sheraton Hohhot (sheraton-hohhot-hotel) from Marriott.

The steel-and-glass 360-room Shangri-la Baotou (baotou/shangrila) is situated near the deer enclosure in front of the pleasantly landscaped Galaxy Square. Baotou translates as ‘deer city’, and there used to be many prancing around these parts. These days, the deer are tame and you can feed them carrots if you feel so inclined, although it is doubtful that the government officials who pour into the hotel from the city’s swish new government offices located nearby have time for such frivolity. As with the Shangri-La property in Hohhot, all rooms are at least 38sq m, and offer soothing green views of the botanical gardens, or Baotou’s bustling cityscape. For long-stay visitors, the hotel has serviced apartments.

Another place worth seeking out is the 17-storey Baotou Shenhua International Hotel, if only because it has its own bowling alley. If being king pin isn’t your thing, then take advantage of the fact that you can enjoy round the clock room service. This 288-room property has spacious rooms, the largest being 40sq m. A more modest option is the three-star Haide Hotel, which features well-appointed executive, luxury and presidential suites decked out in a warm, contemporary decor that’s still difficult to find in many locally-run Chinese hotels. Facilities include a massage room, sauna and underground parking.

Outside the major cities, it’s easy to find accommodation in the grasslands, particularly in Gegentala. One popular option is the Gegentala Grasslands Tour Center (gegentala-grassland.html), a two-and-a-half drive from Hohhot. While undeniably touristy – the endless rows of concrete yurt-shaped accommodation is more akin to a Mongolian-themed caravan trip than a night spent as a herdsman – at least you don’t have to rough it, as they have their own toilets, plus great views of the sun slowly sinking into green. Be warned that the beds provided little in the way of comfort (think boarding school-style hard) although unlike traditional yurts, they did have the luxury of electricity when we visited some years back. But creature comforts have crept in with new beds and heating. There is also some hotel-style accommodation at the centre. Gegentala is one of the areas where the Mongolian Naadam Festivals are held with their distinctive archery, horse racing and wrestling — the "Three Manly Attributes".

At Aobao Hill in Gegentala, tie a silken scarf to a piece of rope at the lamasery as you make a wish and burn some incense, all while standing in front of your Chinese star sign. Wander further afield from this point on the grasslands and see proper yurts, (made of cloth, not concrete) complete with colourful shrines to Genghis Khan and brightly painted furniture.

Farther afield (around a three-and-a half-hour drive from Hohhot) is the Huitengxile Grassland Tourist Center (huitengxile-grassland.html), which has different resort areas including Qingsong amidst the pine trees, and Huanghua on the grassland belt. It’s an almost identical set-up to Gegentala, with well-equipped yurts and Mongolian-themed meals and entertainment, although being farther away from the city, it’s not quite as busy. The Yellow Flowers Geo Park is a popular attraction with its small mini-trains cruising the grasslands offering Instagrammable options.

If you’d rather go more rustic and stay in a proper yurt far from the tourist crowds, then either head up north to Xilinhot near the Mongolian border, or ask your travel agent if they can tailor a package to suit your needs. If you can speak Chinese, another option is to approach a taxi driver, who may be able to arrange a night or two in a more authentic setting.

The Inner Mongolia Museum is a gleaming futuristic structure with an adjoining theatre. The museum houses everything from colossal dinosaur structures to displays on China’s space programme and over 150,000 cultural relics. But it’s not the exhibitions so much as the building which is of particular interest, heralding a new modern era for this region. There is also a very modern Science and Technology Museum.

Around an hour’s drive from Baotou and at the northern tip of the Kubuqi desert lies Xiangshiawan, also known as the Singing Sand Ravine, as you can supposedly hear the sound of cars or planes as you pad through the sand, legs wrapped in cloth up to your shins (they protect your feet from the scorching sand). While it’s a wonderfully romantic notion, you cannot actually hear anything like this, only the quiet whooshing sound your feet make as you pull them out of the soft yellow earth.

Never mind. Take a camel ride and imagine you’re in the Sahara instead. The camels are tame and all tied together so you don’t have to worry about them running off, and they’re much more obedient than the grassland horses, who try and pause to graze every few minutes. And if the tame camels are a bit on the well, tame, side, hop on a wooden tray for an adrenalin-rushing ride down the 110m hill. Remember to take sunglasses and a scarf to avoid getting a faceful of sand.

If in search of modern comforts, the Lotus Resort Hotel (lotus-resort-hotel) with its unique architecture and dune views may suit. It's near Dalad, south of Baotou. There's swimming and a host of activities in the area. As with with many Inner Mongolian hotels it is often hard to find the website for the operator so go through one of the reputed tour agencies.

Then, of course, there’s Genghis Khan’s mausoleum in Dongsheng. What could be a more fitting way to end your trip to the region than by mulling over this warrior’s weighty legacy?

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Yes, dining is all mutton

The rumours are true: it really is all about mutton in Mongolia, and you will find it on the menu of almost every restaurant, surfacing in a hotpot, accompanying a noodle dish, or simply piled high on a plate. Characterised by a raw unadulterated tang that drags your taste buds back to how meat was when you were a kid. It’s also very fatty.

Another staple is the salty milk tea which, like Taiwanese bubble tea and its chewy tapioca balls, is strangely addictive, and drunk to keep the locals toasty warm in the winter months. The salt content can be thirst-inducing so have a glass of water on hand.

Alternatively, sip on a bottle of the local beer, Xai Bei, which isn’t half bad and more flavoursome than many Chinese beers. On the bottle, it proclaims itself to be ‘for serious drinkers’ and tipplers describe it as a "robust companion to mutton".

While KTV prevails (those Mongolians sure love to sing) there are also a number of bars around Hohhot as well as bonfire establishments… Our favourite Lan Tian Club has gone but there are a range of options at the newer hotels.

Foodies will likely head to the Xilin Guole Beilu area in Hohhot to get more of a taste if the local fare with branches of restaurants like Xiaofeiyang Huoguocheng (remarkably good lamb hotpot), and Ge Ri Le AMa Nai ChaGuan for more street food style mutton and milk tea.

In Baotou, Menggudaying (Mongolian camp restaurants) situated on the inner city grasslands offer everything from private dining yurts (where local businessmen like to take their clients) to lamb stews, roasts, ribs, milk teas and lots of good old fashioned Mongolian hospitality. At fancier places, this often begins with placing coloured silk scarves round a guest’s neck (usually blue or white) and drinking the local rice wine, baijiu, which is surprisingly smooth compared to maotai. Then there’s a special Mongolian toasting: first, put your finger and thumb together, point to the earth, then the heavens. Next, trace a fingerful of the spirit across your forehead, and then drink it all in one from the silver cup.

Horsehead fiddlers – some as virtuoso as Eddie Van Halen move their fingers as fast as a Mongolian steed at full tilt, providing the perfect backdrop to the sound of rich, deep Mongolian singing. Food is also impressive. Alongside plates piled high with mutton, there is plain tangy yoghurt, tasty meat and vegetarian dumplings, and shredded potato mixed with local greens.

Some commonly recommended hotpot establishments in Baotou include places like Little Sheep Hot Pot and Happy Lamb Hotpot. You get the drift. Explore popular Gangtie Street. Ask your concierge for directions to the latest hot spots and then sit down to chomp on the mutton and slurp down some noodles.

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