This Summer, Let's Gallop Across the Grasslands of Inner Mongolia!

📍 Auckland · 👁 1549 reads · ❤️ 1 likes

Recently, I keep seeing videos about traveling to Inner Mongolia, and looking at the full screen of pleasant scenery with blue sky, white clouds, clear water, and green grass, how could I, being in Zhengzhou where the temperature is nearly 40 degrees, not be tempted?

Thoughts are nothing without action, so I started planning! After searching, I realized Inner Mongolia is really huge. Hulunbuir was too far, and the airfare alone discouraged me. The grassland closest to me is the Xilamuren Grassland in Baotou. I checked the recent epidemic prevention policies—Baotou had no cases, and low-risk areas didn't require quarantine to go there. So I immediately rallied my friends and began our grassland summer retreat!

There are direct flights from Zhengzhou to Baotou, and in less than two hours we arrived smoothly at Baotou Donghe Airport. The moment we got off the plane, my travel companions and I felt: the weather in Baotou is so comfortable! And it's quite bustling, not at all the image many people have of herds of cattle and sheep and yurts everywhere. (I must set the record straight for friends in Inner Mongolia.) Since it was already evening, we took a taxi to the hotel we had booked.

🏨 Accommodation: We booked the Yinuo Luxury Hotel, located in the city center of Baotou, just across the street from Baotou's most prosperous Steel Street. This hotel was also the best in terms of environment and service attitude during our trip. The mattress comfort was the most comfortable among similar hotels I've stayed in, and the decoration style was simple and modern, following a "low-key luxury" route. We booked the luxury twin room, which had a smart TV, smart toilet, and a media room—it felt like five-star amenities, further dispelling our impression that "Inner Mongolia is backward." The most crucial thing was the price was very affordable, so I must recommend it to the Liu Yifis who want to travel to Baotou.

After storing our luggage, we had a simple dinner and walked along Steel Street, known as the "Inner Mongolia Chang'an Avenue," enjoying the night view of Baotou. A gentle breeze blew on our faces, and the summer irritability instantly dissipated.

After waking up, we tried the local famous "hearty breakfast"—shaomai, with pure lamb filling. The taste was okay, but for me, having this in the morning was a bit greasy. Then we prepared to rent a car and drive ourselves to the Xilamuren Grassland!

About three hours later, as we crossed a small hill, the magnificent scene from elementary school textbooks—"The sky is vast, the wilderness is boundless, wind blows grass low, revealing cattle and sheep"—appeared before our eyes. The sky was a refreshing blue, and although the grass wasn't very tall, the endless green instantly relaxed my mood.

We didn't book a hotel online and went directly to a nearby herder's yurt. The herder was very hospitable and offered us "welcoming wine." The yurt we stayed in was actually like a hostel, just shaped like a yurt, with relatively basic facilities—understandable since it's far from the city.

There weren't many activities on the grassland; mainly horseback riding (led by someone), archery, and photography. What we were looking forward to were the bonfire party in the evening, whether we could really see stars on the grassland, and the sunrise the next day.

This was the peak tourist season for the grassland, so visitors could sign up to perform on stage at the party, and friends in the crowd would cheer and joke, making it very lively.

Since the weather was good and there was no light pollution here, we could see a lot of stars with the naked eye—very romantic. However, note that even in summer, the grassland at night is a bit cold, so we returned early to rest, getting up early to watch the sunrise.

At 5 a.m., we crawled out of our dreams to watch the grassland sunrise, feeling that this trip was definitely worthwhile.

After packing our bags, we continued our journey, driving to Xiangshawan (Resonant Sand Bay). Compared to the free Xilamuren Grassland, the entrance fee for Xiangshawan was much steeper—280 RMB per person for a combo ticket. But it also had many activities, including desert zip-lining, adventure vehicles, sightseeing trains, camel riding, etc. The most fun, in my opinion, was sand sledding (20 RMB per person), which was an additional fee.

We were all tired after leaving Xiangshawan. Since our flight was the next morning, we went back to Baotou to return the car and again chose the Yinuo Luxury Hotel we had stayed at upon arrival. The hotel butler thoughtfully brought us hot milk to relieve the fatigue of the journey—really attentive service.

After a night of recovery, we boarded the return flight.

This trip was absolutely perfect. The grassland is great for escaping the heat, the desert scenery has its own charm, and the people of Inner Mongolia are very warm. I'll come again if I have the chance!

Travel Diary Directory

1. Day 1: ✈️ Zhengzhou—Baotou

2. Day 2: 🌿 Xilamuren Grassland

3. Day 3: 🏜️ Xiangshawan

4. Day 4: ✈️ Baotou—Zhengzhou

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