The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, bordering both the Republic of Mongolia and Russia to the north, is a province-level administrative region. The province is about two million square kilometers, but sparsely populated. Much of the population (around 23 million) are centered around the city areas, especially in the capital Hohhot and in the even larger industrial city of Baotou.
To most foreigners, and many Chinese, the name Mongolia brings to mind rolling grasslands, thundering horseman hordes and the destructive, tyrannical, yet near-omnipotent Genghis Khan. The vast majority of this highland province, mostly over 1,000 meters above sea level, is of relatively flat landscape, the ideal environment for the cultivation of the horsemanship and skillful cavalry tactics that were used by the Mongols to scourge most of the known world.

General Information of Hohhot:

Hohhot (Huhehaote) is the capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, rich and beautiful, which was founded on May 1, 1947, is the first region in our country where the regional autonomy of the minority nationalities was realized. Inhabited by 49 nationalities, Inner Mongolia has a population of 22,840,000, including 3,700,000 Mongolian people and more than 800,000 people of other minorities. It has an area of 1,183,000 square kilometers.

Geography:

Situated in the central area in the Neimenggu Autonomous Region, at the southern foot of Mt. Yinshan, higher north and lower south terrain; central and south plain; Mt. Qingshan in its north, Yellow River flowing through its south

Climate:

temperate monsoon climate; without cold winters and hot summers; with favorable springs and autumns; average sunshine of 2700 to 3400 hours annually; with frost-free period of 60-160 days

Nature:

More than 600 species of wild plants, which are economically valuable, grow in Inner Mongolia, such as hazelnuts, shiny-leaved yellow horn, Red bilberry, acorn, narrow-leaved oleaster, black moss and mushroom. More than 500 species of wild plants, which have medicinal effects on diseases, also grow in Inner Mongolia, including saline distance, membranous milk vetch and so on. A lot of wild birds and animals live in Inner Mongolia, including swallow, duck, turtledove, sable and fitch. Sable, fitch, pilose antler of a young stag, deer's penis, deer's tendor and so on are all valuable traditional Chinese medicine.

Shopping:

Wool and Goatshair Textiles

The wool textile industrial bases of Inner Mongolia have been set up in Hohhot, Baotou, Chifeng, Dongsheng, Tongliao and Hailar. The famous and quality products are as follows. Ordos brand goatshair sweater, Luda brand wool sweater, Huangfei brand knitting wool, Rongguan brand goatshair muffler, Changcheng brand 99-line hand-made carpet, Luzhou brand dyed adhesive-bonded wool carpet, Tiantan brand antique-imitating carpet, Feima brand 100-line hand-made Qianlong carpet, Baoma brand 65215 jacquard woolen blanket, Wanping brand 46510 multi-color jacquard woolen blanket, etc.

National Handicraft Articles and National Daily-used Articles

National handicraft articles mainly includes Balin stone carvings, Jixueshi carvings, the handicraft articles carved out of jade, agate, animals bones and animal's horns, gold or silver jewels, ornaments and other handiwork made of such metals as brass. The famous national handicraft articles are Silver Horse Ornament-Gaining an Immediate Victory, and Silver Horse Ornament--Arrival of the Good Fortune. The national daily-used articles (referring to the articles which the people of minority nationalities need in their daily life) are mainly as follows: Mongolian folding chair, Mongolian chess, snuff bottle, notional toys, copper hot pot, machine-made copper hot pot, sliver bowl, ox horn cup, Mongolian-style hat, Mongolian yurt, Mongolian boots, Yongshi brand boots, saddle, the sword placed under the pillow for dealing with surprise attacks, knife with the horse head-shaped handle, prince's waist sword, Love Mongolian Knives, IM brand cloth piece-wool-padded toys, Changcheng brand tapestry, etc.

 Cuisine:

Mutton is the staple of the Mongolian table. )"en it is served in large chunks, it is meant to be carved and caten with a uniquely shaped knife, the only utensil on the table besides chopsticks. The mutton is barbecued, spit?roasted, or grilled. Mongolian Hot Pot has become a popular dish throughout China. A pot of bubbling broth is simmered at the table in Swiss fondue fashion and diners watch slivers of lamb and vegetables quickly cook. Then the lamb is dipped into spicy sauce and condiments and eaten together with round sesame buns. Mongolian?style hotly pep-pered shishkebob is also a favorite national dish of China. The traditional Mongolian tea is worth a try. A rich, warm broth, it is fortified with goat's milk, butter, and grains, and served with various breads, including short-bread cakes.

Roast Lamb Roast

lamb is the traditional Mongolian food, which is specially prepared when a dinner party is held in honor of the distinguished guests or a great celebration is held. The roast lamb, which looks golden red and tastes quite delicious, is laid on a square wooden dish.

Instant-Boiled Mutton

Instant-boiled mutton, also called the Mongolian Fire Pot, was created in the Yuan Dynasty. Choose mutton from the back, rear legs or tail of a killed sheep. Cut the mutton into slices. The boiled mutton is fresh and tender, not greasy.

Cooked Mutton
This is the delicacy which the Mongolian people like best. It is only prepared for the special occasions, such as offering sacrifices to gods or ancestors, holding weddings or celebrating the elder's birthday. When the dinner party begging, it is customary for the Mongolian people to cut a piece of meat from the fat tail first and have a taste of it.
Finger Mutton
This dish is the traditional food which the Mongolian people have liked best for thousands of years. People often use their fingers to take the meat while eating. That's why the dish is called finger mutton.
Butter
It is also called yellow butter. Butter is nutritious and unique in flavor, is suitable for both the Chinese food and the Western food.
Cheese
It is one of the dairy products the Mongolian people like best.
Sour Milk
Generally, the Mongolian people like drinking sour milk, instead of drinking fresh milk.

Milk Tea
Milk tea is the traditional hot drink the Mongolian people like best. It is made by boiling the water with brick tea and fresh milk. People usually put a little salt into the milk when they drink it.
Sometimes they put a little butter or stir-fried millet into the milk tea.
Shaomai
Shaomai is a local delicacy, which has a long history in Hohhot. The visitors who come to Hohhot always have a taste of shaomai. Shaomai is characteristic of unique technique, fine raw materials, nice and thin wrappers, delicious fillings and all necessary ingredients and seasoning. The hot shaomai taken just out of the steamer gives out pleasing smell. It looks like a small soft bag when it is picked up with chopsticks, and looks like a small pancake when it is placed on the plate. It is delicious in taste and pleasing in form.
Naked Oat Flour
Naked oat flour is processed out of naked oats. The naked oats, which is a low-yield, cold-resisting and salt-alkali-resisting crop with a short mature period, contain high protein, fat and many kinds of trace elements, such as iron, calcium and phosphorus.
The naked oat flour is processed in a special way. The food of various kinds can be made out of the naked oat flour. They are well received by the local people.
Buckwheat Flour
Buckwheat flour is processed out of buckwheat. The flour can be made into noodles and some other kinds of food. Putting some mutton gravy into the noodle, people find the food quite delicious.

Hohhot Attractive points:
Zhaojun Tomb
Located near the bank of Da Hei River (Da Hei He), six miles to the south of Hohhot (Hu He Hao Te), Zhaojun Tomb is one of the most beautiful scenes of ancient times.
This tomb is one hundred feet tall, occupying an area of 1.3 hectare. It was said that each year when it turned cold and grasses became yellow that only this tomb remained green and so got the name Green Tomb (Qing Zhong). In fact this is not the reason it became famous, but because of the lady Wang

Zhaojun.
Wang Zhaojun, a daughter of a Han family, was elected to enter the imperial palace because of her beauty in the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD). In the year 33 BC Hu Yan Ye Chan Yu, the Emperor of Xiongnu, an ethnic group country, came to ask for her hand in marriage in order to have friendly relations with Han. Zhaojun then married herself off to the grasslands of her own free will; this is called Zhaojun Chu Sai meaning Zhaojun went out beyond the Great Wall, which is a very important incident that happened in the history of Han and Xiongnu.
She made great contributions to the relationship between Han and Xiongnu. In the following sixty years, no wars broke out and people lived a better life and she also spread Han culture and knowledge to the ethnic group of people.
Futurity then built this tomb in the commemoration of this lady. She was not really buried here and nobody knows where and when she died.

Dazhao Temple
Located in the old city of Hohhot, this temple was built in 1580 in the Ming Dynasty. It is one of the biggest and best-preserved temples in Hohhot. The temple is only an incidental scene; the main action is in the streets. Near the area of Dazhao Temple are fascinating adobe houses, which are typically low and squat with decorated glass windows.
Xilamuren Grassland
Xilamuren, meaning "yellow river" in Mongolian, is located 100 kilometers north of Hohhot. Xilamuren Prairie, commonly known as Taihe, got its name from the Puhui Temple, a Lama temple built in the Qing Dynasty near the Xilamuren River. Constructed in 1769 during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, Puhui Temple was initially a resort of the Sixth Panchen Lama of Xilitu of Huhhot. With engraved beams and pictured purlins, the temple appears quite splendid.
Xilamuren Prairie, a typical example on the plateau, is covered by green grass and fresh flowers every summer and autumn. Due to the continual investment of the local government, reception service is growing better and better. Thus, Xilamuren has become a popular scenic spot in Inner Mongolia.

Engbei Desert
Engbei Desert Tourist Spot is situated in Wulan Township, Dalad Banner, the Ih Ju League on the south bank of the Huanghe River. It covers an area of 2000 hectares, including 180000-mu desert, and 120000-mu grassland. As a famous central place of controlling sand, this tourist spot attracts a lot of foreign friends to come here either for planting trees or for paying a visit every year. Now more than 1,000,000 trees have been planted and are growing well. The reservoir and pools cover a total area of 10000 mu. There is a natural mineral spring and two resonant sand places. Near the tourist spot there are some other scenic spots, such as the ancient ferry crossing and the tomb of Wang Zhaojun. There are some Mongolian yurts serving as a hotel.