Inner Mongolia (内蒙古自治区) · 11 places · 8 cities
11 places in Inner Mongolia, grouped by city. The last column is the gate: 6 of them are open at all hours, and the others close, often earlier than the light does.
Most common here: Geopark (6), Grassland (3), Mountain and forest (2). See all provinces, or the background on parks.
2 places
Alxa (阿拉善盟)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Badain Jaran Desert (巴丹吉林)UNESCO GEOPARKDunes reaching 1,617 m, recorded as the highest anywhere, with more than 140 lakes between them, some spring-fed and permanent. The sand at Baori Taolegai booms audibly as it slides. | Geopark | 8:00 to 18:00 |
| Ejina Populus Euphratica Forest (额济纳胡杨林)Described as the largest remaining stand of wild Euphrates poplar in the world. The trees turn gold for about three weeks in October, which is when the roads fill. | Geopark | Open at all hours |
2 places
Chifeng (赤峰市)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Hexigten Stone Formation (克什克腾石阵（阿斯哈图）)UNESCO GEOPARKGranite cut into horizontal layers by Quaternary glaciers, so the rock reads as stacked slabs rather than the vertical blades of the stone forest in Yunnan. | Mountain and forest | 7:00 to 17:30 |
| Ulan Butong (乌兰布统)Open grassland with scattered birch, once the Qing hunting reserve and the site of the 1690 campaign against Galdan. Autumn is when the birch turns and the horse herds are driven. | Grassland | Open at all hours |
2 places
Ulanqab (乌兰察布)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Huitengxile Grassland Huanghuagou (辉腾锡勒草原黄花沟)Six hundred square kilometres of high meadow with ground cover above ninety per cent, and the closest grassland of this kind to Beijing. In flower through the summer. | Grassland | Open at all hours |
| Ulanhada Volcano Geopark (乌兰哈达火山地质公园)More than thirty volcanoes across 400 square kilometres, cones and craters intact, with smaller cones visible inside them. Numbers three, five and six are the ones people climb. | Geopark | Open at all hours |
1 place
Erlianhaote (二连浩特)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Erenhot National Geopark (二连浩特国家地质公园)A geopark on dinosaur fossil beds at the Mongolian border, with halls for excavation in place, mineral crystals, and over three hundred petrified trees from the plateau. | Geopark | 8:00 to 18:00 |
1 place
Hohhot (呼和浩特)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Manhan Mountain Erlongshitai National Forest Park (蛮汉山二龙什台国家森林公园)A forest park on a ridge above 2,300 m outside Hohhot, several degrees cooler than the city and used mostly for summer walking. | Mountain and forest | Open at all hours |
1 place
Hulunbuir (呼伦贝尔市)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Hulunbuir Grassland (呼伦贝尔大草原)A hundred thousand square kilometres of grassland, recorded as the largest in China. The Morigele river meanders so much across the flat ground that it is called the most crooked water under heaven. | Grassland | Open at all hours |
1 place
Ordos (鄂尔多斯市)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Xiangshawan (响沙湾)At the eastern end of the Kubuqi desert, where dry sand hums when it slides, one of only a handful of places worldwide where this happens. Developed as a resort with four separate zones rather than a walking route. | Geopark | 8:00 to 19:00 |
1 place
Xing’an (兴安盟)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Arxan (阿尔山)Volcano, forest, grassland, hot spring, snow and crater lake within one area, with a group of working volcanic hot springs described as the largest anywhere. The name means hot holy water in Mongolian. | Geopark | 8:00 to 17:00 |
Which Ones Need a Whole Day
A city park is an hour before dinner. A geopark can be a full day with a shuttle and a cable car, and the gate closes earlier than the park does. Tell our local team where you will be and they will say which of these fit the day you have.