main cities of inner mongolia: hohhot , baotou , wuhai , hailar , manzhouli , tongliao , chifeng , jining , erenhot , ulanhot
hohhot, the regional capital of the inner mongolian autonomous region, is a city of 1 million people lying on the heihe (black river), 600km north-west of beijing. it feels a lot further because of the mountain barriers in shanxi, hebei and in inner mongolia itself.
the centre of the city is xinhua square, at the junction of bilingual road and the east-west axis xinhua dajie; early in the morning the square becomes an exercise ground for hundreds of people. a few blocks to the east of here is the newest shopping street in town, xincheng lu (new city street), while the busiest shopping area is on zhongshan road, south of xinhua road, around the nationalities market, a huge department store. just to the south, renmin park is a fairly standard arrangement of lakes, causeways and pavilions, home to the city zoo.
there is a lot to see in and around hohhot, but very little information available unless you read chinese. the travel agencies will focus your attention on a small number of city sites and try to sell you a trip to the grasslands north of the nearby daqingshan. but with a lot of patience, and as much ingenuity, you will be able to see sites of ancient cultures, mongolian khans and chinese emperors through the ages, as well as stretches of both the zhao and han great walls. it's not easy, but it can be a serious adventure finding and visiting many of these spots.