Hohhot

About Hohhot

Its name means Blue City in Mongolian, and Hohhot still mixes Mongol, Han and Hui cultures in a way few Chinese cities do. The capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region sits on a broad plain below the Daqing Mountains, with street signs written in both Mongolian script and Chinese characters, and grasslands only a couple of hours away.

The city grew around a Tibetan Buddhist monastery founded by the Mongol ruler Altan Khan in the late 16th century, and later became a Qing garrison town. That past survives in the old quarter around Dazhao and Xilitu Zhao, in the carved Five Pagoda Temple, in the Qing general's yamen and in the Hui neighbourhood around the Great Mosque.

Today Hohhot is also known for its dairy industry, so milk tea, yoghurt and dried cheese are everywhere, alongside hand-pulled mutton, shaomai dumplings and hotpot. The Inner Mongolia Museum explains the steppe's long history, and summer trips lead out to yurt camps on the grassland.