Last week I went on a 5-day excursion around Inner Mongolia, or rather a camping trip as they refer to it here. It wasn’t the typical camping trip you’d think of unless you consider staying in hotels as such. My trip was work-related, but a needed break from the usual routine of being in the classroom all day.
Students from different campuses of our school located mainly in Xi’an and Jinan attended and were accompanied by their parents. I, being the only foreigner and foreign teacher, represented the Hohhot campus. And because learning English was the main reason we were all gathered together, I did what I came here to do- teach English.
I was assigned to teach 20-minute lessons during the bumpy rides to our destinations. I fell and almost died a couple of times, but what matters is I’m alive and poppin. During the whole trip, my students were very keen on teaching me new words and phrases in Chinese, and now I’m fluent. Hehe, just kidding. I’ll get there one day.
Everything about this little excursion reminded me of how powerful nature, history, and culture play in our daily lives. If you’re anything like me and have an itch to walk the off-beaten path, here are some of the many breathtaking and enriching destinations you don’t want to miss in Inner Mongolia.
About Inner Mongolia
As far as I know, many people aren’t familiar with Inner Mongolia, China. To be in the know, here are some facts about the region.
- Inner Mongolia, also known as Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is one of the 23 provinces and one of five autonomous regions in China.
- The territory stretches across northern China, bordering both Mongolia and Russia in the north.
- Traditionally agricultural and pastoral, the region has become much more urbanized since the late 1990s – particularly around the three major urban areas located in the center (Hohhot, Baotou, and Jining).
- Settlement in this region is unevenly distributed, with most people concentrated in the agricultural belt, south of the Daqing Mountains.
- Inner Mongolia consists of almost one-third of China’s grasslands and about one-fourth of its pasture area – known for its livestock.
- The population of the region is mostly Han Chinese, with the largest minority population being Mongols. Both Mandarin and Mongolian are spoken in this region, although the majority of the population speaks Mandarin.
- Inner Mongolia has a deep imprint of Tibetan Buddhist influence due to the Mongols accepting much of the cultural and spiritual practices in Tibet.
Best time to visit
The best time to visit many places in Inner Mongolia will either be during the summer or autumn. Summers in this region is dry and the heat can be very strong, and I would greatly advise planning around the weather. My trip was in July, it being one of the hottest months other than August. Luckily we had a few days of rain and strong winds to cool the heat.
Keep in mind, that there will always be unexpected rainfall or possible sand storms from the north.
How to get around
There are many options on how to get around the region. Long-distance buses would likely be the most economical, although it’ll require a little more planning on your side. Tour guides are plenty when planning a trip anywhere in China, and they’ll always include public transportation to and from your destination. If it’s your first time I recommend finding a local travel agency that’ll assist in this process. I’ve listed some helpful links below.
Multi-day Tours in Inner Mongolia
China Discovery
Muslim 2 China
What to see
And we’ve reached the exciting part! Here’s a list of the places we visited and some of the defining moments of my first year living in Inner Mongolia.
Xilamuren Prairie
On the first day, we visited the Xilamuren grassland located outside of Hohhot. The site is a tourist attraction to many Chinese locals who appreciate a nice trip to the countryside. To get somewhat of an authentic experience of Mongolian culture, the hotels are built like yurts and traditional Mongolian clothing is worn by the workers. The yurts may appear small and old-fashioned, but the interior is very cozy, well-kept, and modern. Surrounding the campsite, you can find a dining hall, souvenir shop, and some activities. Blue skies, fresh air, green grass, farm animals……everything you’d expect to see in the countryside.
We stayed overnight at the grassland, and the next day we were accompanied by a few tour guides who led us around. We drank traditional milk tea and ate light treats, played dress-up and took pictures, flew kites, fed farm animals, ran around the field, and went horseback riding (the chiren did, and I watched).
Part of me dreaded having to be the odd one out, but I also acknowledged the lessons and memories I’d take from the entirety of the experience.
Kubuqi Desert
I never imagined there being a desert in Northern China, nor China in general. It was also my first time visiting a desert and riding a camel.
The Kubuqi desert is located in the northern part of the Ordos Plateau in Inner Mongolia. It’s also the seventh-largest desert in China. It was once considered “a desert sea of death” due to the environmental threat of desertification. In a span of 30 years many government and business groups, along with local people decided to plant trees to help improve the biodiversity of the desert. As a result, it has improved significantly, with an increase in water flow and green land.
This desert is also a large tourist attraction and resort. There’s a variety of activities surrounding the site from hiking, camping, camel riding, off-road desert driving, watching traditional Mongolian theater performances, playing in the water park, and more.
More info can be found here.
Right before we reached the desert in the afternoon, it was pouring rain. We had to wait in the large dining hall where we ate lunch until the weather settled. Luckily once we arrived at the main part of the desert via a car boat and mini train, the sun was shining and it was hot once again.
Ordos Grassland
Another grassland similar to the first, but this one was located in Ordos and near the Kubuqi desert. The weather wasn’t the best when we visited, although we still had the opportunity to walk around, learn a thing or two, and play archery. Even though we didn’t stay long, coming here was my favorite part of the trip. It was the lush and green scenery, the Mongolian yurts surrounding the grassland, and even the gloomy weather.
Mengniu Dairy Company
Last but not least, on our final day we came back to Hohhot and visited the Mengniu Dairy Company. This was also my favorite part of the trip, mainly because I appreciate the milk products here.
Mengniu is one of the leading dairy companies in China, with its headquarters located in Hohhot. As mentioned in my recent blog post on Hohhot, Inner Mongolia is known for its milk products. I’m not the biggest fan of milk, although I will vouch for the variety of milk products I’ve tried after moving to Hohhot.
Touring the company, the tour guide mentioned the amount of milk production per cow each day was 14 kg. That’s a good 30 lbs. a day, and from the amount of land that can accommodate the cows, the production is quite high. Equally accounting for the large population. Something I didn’t understand for the longest time, was why dairy products here aren’t always refrigerated. After doing some research, I’ve learned it’s because the milk products are UHT treated (thanks google). This means they have a longer shelf life and quite frankly it’s a whole lot better in many aspects.
Main Highlights
- Meeting a parent who lived and worked in Ecuador, and also spoke Spanish!
- Learning more about Chinese/Mongolian culture and history
- Being in nature
- Testing different milk treats at the Mengniu Dairy Company
My Takeaways
- It’s alright to step out of my comfort zone and be more accepting of different situations.
- Breath and relax.
And that’s a wrap! I hope you learned something new and this blog post encourages you to learn more about this part of the world. As always, happy travels!
Looking for more experiences located in Inner Mongolia? I recommend checking out the variety of attractions listed here. Enjoy!
