Driving into the widest sky in China
The first time I crossed the grassland outside Hohhot, I pulled the car over for no reason except to stand in it. The road ran straight to a horizon that bent, and there was no building, no fence, no sound but wind. Inner Mongolia is not one place; it is a 2,400-kilometer strip of China’s north, from the forests of the far northeast down to the Gobi edge, and a road trip is the only way to feel its scale. I have driven two sections: the classic Hohhot-Baotou-Ordos loop in the center, and the legendary Hulunbuir grasslands in the northeast, which are a different world again.
This guide covers how to drive the region, what the routes give you, the food that comes with the grassland, and the timing that decides whether you see green seas or frozen brown. Pack for weather swings; this is a land of extremes.
The two drives worth doing
The central loop is the easy entry. Fly or rail into Hohhot (the region’s capital, also spelled Huhehaote), rent a car, and within an hour you are on the rolling grassland of Xilamuren or the Gegentala scenic area, where you can sleep in a ger (yurt), ride a horse, and eat lamb cooked over coals. Push west to Baotou and Ordos to add the Kubuqi Desert dunes and the strange, tidy new city of Ordos Kangbashi, built for a population that has only partly arrived.
The grand drive is Hulunbuir, far northeast near the Russian and Mongolian borders. It is a 1.5-hour flight from Hohhot and then a road trip of its own: Hailar to the Erguna wetlands, to the Manzhouli border town with its Russian onion-dome architecture, to the grassland where the grass grows taller than your waist in July. I did this loop in five days and it remains the most open country I have driven in China.
Road reality and getting a car
Renting a car in China works in Hohhot and Hailar, the two hubs, with the usual Chinese temporary driving permit required for foreigners. The highways are excellent and empty, and the scenery makes the long straight stretches a pleasure rather than a chore. Fuel is cheap and the distances are the issue: Hulunbuir alone is the size of a small country, and you will log 800-1,200 km in a week.
If you do not want the permit hassle, domestic flights in China connect Hohhot, Baotou, Ordos, and Hailar, and you can rent a car locally at each end. The high-speed rail reaches Hohhot and Baotou from Beijing in a few hours, which is how I started the central loop without flying. For Hulunbuir, flying is almost mandatory unless you have a week to spare on the road from the center.
What you will see and do
| Stop | Region | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
| Xilamuren grassland | Central | Ger stay, horse ride, 1 hr from Hohhot |
| Ordos / Kubuqi | Central-west | Desert dunes, new city |
| Gegentala | Central | Naadam festival site |
| Hailar – Erguna | Hulunbuir | Wetlands, forest edge |
| Manzhouli | Hulunbuir | Russian border town |
The grassland activities are simple and repeatable: ride a horse (hold the saddle, the animals are calm but bored), watch a grassland sunset that takes an hour to finish, and attend a Naadam if your dates line up. Naadam (the local version is small and real, not the stadium show) means wrestling, horse racing, and archery, plus a lamb roasted whole in a pit. I caught one in July outside Hailar and ate meat with my hands next to herders who found my chopstick struggle funny.
Eating on the steppe
Grassland food is meat and dairy, plain and heavy. The signature is roasted whole lamb (kao quan yang), a festival dish you order a day ahead and share with a table of six or more. Day to day, you get hand-pulled noodles with mutton, fried milk curd, and the salty Mongolian milk tea (suutei tsai) that tastes like nothing you expect and grows on you by the third bowl. In Hohhot the streets have hot pot shops where the lamb is local and the broth is clean.
Bring snacks and water; once you leave the towns, food options thin to ger camps that serve a fixed plate of mutton and noodles. Vegetarians will struggle hard here, more than almost anywhere else in China, so plan accordingly or accept a cheese-and-bread diet for a few days.
When to go, and the cold truth
July and August are the window for the central and northeast grasslands: green, warm, and full of festivals. June is good and emptier; September turns gold and cold fast. The China weather by season reality here is extreme: summer days hit 30°C and nights drop to 10°C, and winter (Nov-Mar) brings -20°C and closed ger camps. I went in mid-July and packed for both, which was correct.
Winter driving is possible but demands a 4WD, snow tires, and nerve. The desert and grassland in snow are beautiful and empty, but services close and rescue is far. Most travelers should stick to summer and early autumn.
Where to sleep
The ger camps range from basic (a felt tent, a squat toilet, 150-300 yuan) to comfortable (heated, private bath, 400-800 yuan). Book ahead in July-August because the good camps fill. City hotels in China in Hohhot and Hailar are standard and cheap (250-500 yuan for a good room). Manzhouli has Soviet-style hotels that are a novelty worth one night.
Signal and payment: the towns are fine, the open grassland is not. Load the apps you need in China with offline maps before you leave the city, carry cash for the ger camps that do not take QR pay, and tell someone your route. The steppe is safe but unforgiving of getting lost without a phone.
The desert edge: Alashan and the Gobi
Most visitors stop at the grassland, but the western end of Inner Mongolia, around Alashan, is where the steppe meets the Gobi, and it is a different drive entirely. The Badain Jaran Desert here holds some of the tallest sand dunes on earth, and a few lakes sit between them, a surreal blue-in-yellow pattern you reach by a long 4WD track from the town of Alashan Youqi. I did not make it that far, but travelers I met swore the dune climbing and the star-filled nights were the best part of their Mongolia trip, and the route from the central grassland is a logical western extension if you have ten days or more.
The Gobi edge is also where the region’s history shows: the old Silk Road forts and the Ming-era walls that once marked the agricultural boundary of China. These are quiet, unstaffed sites, often just rubble and a sign, but standing on a wall that once divided farm from steppe puts the whole drive in context. Go in September, when the desert cools but the winds have not yet turned vicious. If the desert extension is too far, even the central loop offers a taste: the Kubuqi dunes near Ordos are reachable in a morning from Hohhot and give you sand surfing and camel rides without the multi-day commitment.
Quick facts
- Inner Mongolia stretches ~2,400 km east to west.
- Hohhot is the capital; Hailar is the Hulunbuir hub.
- Best grassland months: July and August.
- Naadam (wrestling, racing) peaks in summer.
- Ger camps run 150-800 yuan depending on comfort.
- Winter drops below -20°C; most camps close.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a 4WD?
Not in summer on the main loops; a normal rental handles the paved roads and the camp tracks fine. For winter or for leaving the roads into the deep steppe, yes, take a 4WD with snow tires. Most summer visitors are fine with a compact car and careful driving.
Is it safe to drive the open grassland?
Yes, the roads are good and crime is low, but the risks are getting lost without signal and running out of fuel between towns. Keep the tank above half, carry water, and download offline maps. The police checkpoints are routine; have your passport ready.
How many days for a good trip?
Four to five days for the central loop (Hohhot-Baotou-Ordos-grassland). Seven to nine for Hulunbuir, which is farther and larger. Trying to do both in one trip needs two weeks and a flight between them.
Can I see Naadam?
The big public festival is July; smaller local ones run through summer. The herder version I joined was unannounced and found by asking at a camp. If Naadam is a goal, plan July and ask locally, because dates follow the lunar calendar and shift year to year.
What is the food like for non-meat eaters?
Hard. The cuisine is meat and dairy almost exclusively. You can survive on milk tea, bread, and fried dough, but a vegetarian will be unhappy after day two. Stock dried fruit, nuts, and instant oats from the cities before heading out.
Is the grassland worth it if I only have a day?
Xilamuren is about an hour from Hohhot, so a day trip gives you a ger lunch, a horse ride, and the open sky without an overnight. It is a taste, not the full experience, but better than skipping it. The real grassland immersion needs at least one night.
Can foreigners visit the border towns like Manzhouli?
Manzhouli is open and popular with domestic tourists; the Russian influence is visible and the border is nearby but not crossable without a Russian visa. Carry your passport for checks. Some sensitive border zones require permits or are closed, so stay in the tourist areas.
Written by the ChinaTravelFood editorial team.
