Travel Information

Detail. Click for Full Map and for more information.

Getting There:

At the time I was at 包头市东河区Baotou city's Donghe district in its south. There I found out two ways to get to 希拉穆仁草原Xilamuren Grassland. The easiest way is to leave from 呼和浩特市Huhehaote (Hohhot) City, the provincial capital of 内蒙古Neimenggu (Inner Mongolia). The ride(Y30) from Donghe's 长途汽车站Long Distance Bus Station, located across from the 东站East Railway Station, to Huhehaote is about 2 hours.  Huhehaote is commonly called 呼市Hushi (Hu city) for short, and the grassland is located just outside of its borders on the north. (see map above)  From Hushi's bus station get the ticket (Y19) to 召河镇Zhaohe, the administrative town within the grassland.    It is less than 100 kilometers from the city center, but the ride will take about 3 hours due to the numerous mountains it needs to pass through. You will not regret the long ride because the landscape along the way is stunning.

If you are in Baotou, there is another way to get to Xilamuren (click on the above detail map for the full map): From the long distance bus station of its southern district, Donghe, get the ticket (Y10, 1.75 hr) to 固阳县Guyang county. Then transfer to another bus to 白灵庙县Bailingmiao County. At this county's station, there is a bus to the grassland. The entire route probably takes 6 hours, which is about 2 hours longer than going first to Hushi, then to the Inner Mongolian plains.  If you have plans to visit sites along this route, such as the 秦长城Qin Great Wall, it can be interesting. I got to Xilamuren using the first route, by leaving from Hushi; but I knew that the second route is possible because a Bailingmiao bus stopped at my ger. Also, at the Guyang bus station, I had noted down some of the destinations — one of which is Bailingmiao. See some pictures I photographed on the road from 包头市至希拉穆仁草原Baotou City to Xilamuren Grassland.

Entrance Ticket:

None that I know of. (summer 2006).

Accomodations:

There are many tourist gers or yurts on the grassland that can be rented, and some of these are large enough to accomodate a large family or group. The gers here are not the traditional mobile yurts: The lower half of the struction are concrete, and its frames are metal rods. Nonetheless, you won't mistaken it for anything other than a ger. Prices go from Y25 and up per person depending on the season and the number of tenants. (summer 2006) I had not checked whether the town itself has hotels, but who wants to come all the way here and stay in the town. The town is about a 15 - 20 minutes walk from the gers.

Food:

Boiled lamp steaks with bread. About Y40 per 斤jin (half a kilogram). The meat will be brought to your ger. While I was there, I saw a pair of Mongolian musician and dancer going around the gers offering their skills. So you may enjoy Mongolian music and dance while you eat. I wish I can tell you more about them, but they did not come round to me. I ought to demand it. Still, it's probably no fun for them to perform for a lone traveler.

Miscellaneous:

Each ger gets a bucket of water for whatever use you like. There are no toilets inside the gers, of course; but lucky for the less wild folks, there is a bathroom in the shape of a ger. Use it early though, because it won't be open when the moon is out. Bring plastic bags just in case. The fee was Y1 per use. Also note: the northern nights are chilly, so bring a jacket.