ULanHot

UlanHot is a small city with a Northern temperate climate. It is smaller than Hailar. At one time it was the capital of Inner Mongolia, but now that has shifted to HohHot. Whereas Hohot is simply a large Chinese city with some Mongolian flavor, UlanHot is a small city with even less Mongolian Flavor except in isolated pockets.

Ulan means Red in Mongolian and Hoh means blue. Hot means city. Thus UlanHot is the "Red city" and HohHot the "Blue city"

UlanHot is starting to awaken from it slumber of the past ten to twenty years. A new project is even building ultra luxury villas. It will develop fast as it is only a 2 hour plane ride from Beijing. The surrounding area is beautiful with pine forests, streams, and meadows.

A slumbering city is opportunity for the traveler. The area is less developed. It is the gateway to AerShan, a major destination. AerShan is about a beautiful 5 hour drive away.

A new city is being built called QianQi. QianQi has always been there, but now it is undergoing a dramatic rebuilding. As of August 2011, there are no less than 20 huge franes there building a huge new city. This will in 1 or 2 years be the new UlanHot, blending into what is now UlanHot. There is a new 5 star hotel being built. There will be modern supermarkets and such. This is now a Mongolian city with new Mongolian restaurants being built.

Sure there are farms encroaching on the grasslands, but the deep grasslands are mostly untouched and reached by small dirt roads. The grasslands are about a 2 to 3 hour drive away to small Mongolian enclaves.

There are 1 or 2 temples to see in the city with true Mongolian flavor, but not much else. It is not a city to linger in, but for some people it will be very exotic. The Ghegkis Khan temple and Park is very nice with lots of history. There are other Mongolian temples near the grasslands

I have used UlanHot as a place to fly into. You can go direct to the grasslands from here. It is about a 2 to 3 hour drive.

It is a city where you can easily get supplies, but not speciality items such as proprietary camera batteries.

Some of the smaller towns along the way have a great deal of charm. You can stop here if you want.

There are lots of herds of sheep, cows, and horses.

 

Updated 08/07/2011