Hohhot travel guide for foreign visitors

Best time to visit

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From the airport or station to the city

Where you land, the ways into the city centre, how long each takes and what it costs.

From Hohhot Baita International Airport (HHT)

呼和浩特白塔国际机场

MetroTime35–45 minCost¥3–5
Metro Line 1 starts at Bayan (Airport) station, next to the domestic terminal; for the international terminal use Baita West station. Ride west to Xinhua Square for the city centre. A new airport, Hohhot Shengle International, is due to replace Baita around the end of 2026, so check which airport your ticket shows.
TaxiTime30–40 minCost¥40–60
Taxis and DiDi from the rank outside arrivals; about 15 km to the old town around Dazhao.

From Hohhot East Station (high-speed rail)

呼和浩特东站

MetroTime15–30 minCost¥2–4
High-speed trains from Beijing (about 2–3 hours via Zhangjiakou) and Datong arrive here. Metro Line 1 stops at the station; the Inner Mongolia Museum is about 15 minutes’ walk south.
TaxiTime25–35 minCost¥25–40
Taxi rank and DiDi pick-up at the station; about 12 km to Dazhao and the old town.

From Hohhot Railway Station (regular trains)

呼和浩特站

TaxiTime15–20 minCost¥15–25
The old central station for conventional trains (including those from Baotou). About 5 km to Dazhao by taxi or DiDi.

Getting around

The old town sights (Dazhao, Xilitu Zhao, Five Pagoda Temple, Saishang Old Street, the Great Mosque) are within 2 km of each other and walkable. Metro Line 1 runs east–west past Xinhua Square, the Inner Mongolia Museum and Hohhot East Station to the airport; taxis and DiDi are cheap for everything else. The grasslands (Xilamuren, Gegentala, Huitengxile) are 1.5–2.5 hours away with no practical public transport: join a day tour or hire a car with driver, and go between June and early October, as camps close in winter. Hohhot (Inner Mongolia) is outside the 240-hour visa-free transit stay area, so you need a visa or another visa-free route to visit. Carry your passport for museum bookings and hotel check-in.

Book these before you fly

These sights need a reservation with your passport. Walk-ups are usually turned away.

Inner Mongolia MuseumReserve a free time slot up to 7 days ahead (new slots open at 20:00) on the museum’s WeChat mini-program “云游内博”, its WeChat account or website, then show the QR code or your ID at the gate. Bring your passport; check that the system accepts it when you book.

Top sights

The curved red colonnade of the new Inner Mongolia Museum

内蒙古博物院Inner Mongolia MuseumThe region’s great museum, in a new building opened in 2025: dinosaurs from the Gobi, Xiongnu and Khitan gold, Mongol empire treasures and nomad life, from saddles to a full ger.Booking required3–4 hours

A painted hall and green bronze incense burner at Dazhao Temple

大召寺Dazhao TempleHohhot’s oldest Tibetan Buddhist monastery, founded by Altan Khan in 1579 around which the city grew; famous for its silver Buddha, dragon carvings and murals.1 hour

The carved and painted wooden archway at the entrance of Xilitu Zhao

席力图召Xilitu Zhao MonasteryA working Gelug monastery opposite Dazhao, first built in 1585, mixing Chinese halls with a Tibetan-style main hall under green and gold roofs; still the seat of a living Buddha.45 minutes–1 hour

The Five Pagoda Temple’s stone stupa with five small pagodas on top

五塔寺Five Pagoda TempleA 1727–1732 “diamond throne” stupa topped by five small pagodas and carved with 1,563 Buddhas, plus a rare Mongolian astronomical map in stone.30–45 minutes

Stone gateway inscribed “Green Mound” on the path to the Zhaojun Tomb

昭君博物院（昭君墓）Zhaojun Tomb and MuseumA 33-metre grassy mound honouring Wang Zhaojun, the Han court lady married to a Xiongnu chief in 33 BC, set in gardens with a museum on peace marriages along the steppe frontier.Booking recommended1.5–2 hours

Green steppe with wind turbines on the horizon at Huitengxile

辉腾锡勒草原（黄花沟）Huitengxile Grassland (Huanghuagou, day trip)A high, cool upland steppe at about 2,000 metres with summer wildflowers, small lakes, rocky gullies and long lines of wind turbines; the Huanghuagou park has camps, riding and shows.Booking recommendedFull day (about 2 hours each way by car)呼和浩特清真大寺Great Mosque of HohhotThe Hui community’s main mosque since 1693, a Chinese-style courtyard with Islamic decoration and a 33-metre six-sided minaret, in the heart of the old Muslim quarter.30 minutes 塞上老街Saishang Old StreetA restored Qing and Republican-era shopping street beside Dazhao, lined with grey-brick shopfronts selling Mongolian crafts, silverware, dairy sweets and snacks.1 hour 万部华严经塔（白塔）White Pagoda (Wanbu Huayanjing Pagoda)An octagonal seven-storey Liao dynasty pagoda, about 900 years old, the last landmark of the vanished city of Fengzhou, with fine brick carvings of guardians and bodhisattvas.1 hour 将军衙署Suiyuan General’s Office (Jiangjun Yashu)The headquarters of the Qing garrison commanders of Suiyuan from 1737, later used by Republican and early PRC governments; a well-kept official compound with history exhibitions.45 minutes 公主府（呼和浩特博物馆）Princess Mansion (Hohhot Museum)The residence built around 1697 for Princess Kejing, a daughter of the Kangxi Emperor married to a Khalkha Mongol prince; China’s best-preserved Qing princess’s mansion, now the city museum.45 minutes–1 hour 《千古马颂》“Ode to the Eternal Horse” horse showA large-scale equestrian show with around a hundred horses and Mongolian riders telling the story of horses on the steppe, staged in a purpose-built arena north-east of the city.Booking recommendedAbout 2.5 hours including travel 格根塔拉草原Gegentala Grassland (day trip)Flat, open steppe north of the Daqing Mountains in Siziwang Banner, with a large tourist centre of yurt camps, horse riding, wrestling and archery shows and Naadam-style events in summer.Booking recommendedFull day, better with one night (about 2 hours each way)希拉穆仁草原Xilamuren Grassland (day trip)The closest grassland to Hohhot, in Damao Banner: rolling pasture dotted with yurt camps offering horse riding, wrestling shows and roast lamb, plus the 18th-century Puhui Temple.Booking recommendedFull day (about 1.5–2 hours each way)响沙湾Xiangshawan “Whistling Dune Bay” (Ordos, long day trip)A big desert resort on the edge of the Kubuqi Desert, where dry sand hums as you slide down; cable car, camel rides, sand sledding and shows.Booking recommendedFull day (3–4 hours on site; about 2.5–3 hours each way from Hohhot)

Map

Further out, not on this map: Huitengxile Grassland (Huanghuagou, day trip), Gegentala Grassland (day trip), Xiangshawan “Whistling Dune Bay” (Ordos, long day trip)

What to eat here

羊肉烧麦Lamb shaomaiHohhot’s signature breakfast: open-topped dumplings with frilly, paper-thin wrappers filled with lamb and green onion, ordered by the liang (50 g of dough) and eaten with brick tea.

手把肉Hand-held muttonBig pieces of lamb on the bone, simply boiled with salt and eaten with a knife and your hands; the classic Mongolian meal.

蒙古奶茶Mongolian milk teaSalty tea boiled with milk, often served with roasted millet, butter, dried curds and fried dough; drunk all day.

莜面窝窝Oat noodle rollsThin rolls of naked-oat dough steamed in a honeycomb pattern, dipped in a hot lamb or tomato broth.

烤羊腿Roast leg of lambA whole leg of lamb slow-roasted until crisp outside and juicy inside, seasoned with cumin and salt; shared at the table or in yurt camps.

奶豆腐Mongolian milk curdFresh or dried cheese-like curd, mildly sour or sweet; eaten as a snack, with milk tea, or bought as a souvenir.

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