The world's finest grasslands — endless green steppe, Mongolian yurts and reindeer forest.
Hulunbuir in the far northeast of Inner Mongolia holds what many call the most beautiful grassland on Earth — a sea of green rolling to the horizon, dotted with yurts, herds and Russian-border towns like Manzhouli.
Further north, the Genhe valley is home to the Ewenki and their domesticated reindeer, a unique pocket of tundra culture.
Here are the highlights worth your time in Hulunbuir.
The endless steppe — horse rides and yurt stays.
Free / ranch feesA Russian-flavoured border town with onion domes.
Free to strollA vast river wetland, best at sunrise.
Tickets ¥65Meet the Ewenki reindeer herders up north.
¥50A forest railway in the taiga.
Tickets ¥100China's northernmost settlement, near the Amur.
FreeHulunbuir has its own kitchen — here are the dishes to try.
Boiled lamb, the steppe staple.
A whole lamb roasted for a feast.
Salty milk tea, drunk all day.
Heavy rye bread from the border towns.
Foraged greens in spring.
Song and dance on the steppe.
Manzhouli's Russian-themed pubs.
Almost no light pollution.
Hailar (HLD) is the hub.
Train from Harbin (~10 h) or Beijing.
A car is near-essential for the steppe.
To Manzhouli and the wetlands.
Works in Hailar town.
Where you stay shapes the trip. Three good bases:
On the grassland.
The base city.
Russian-style hotels.
Grassland lovers, road-trippers, photographers.
