Hohhot – the cyan city | Rugged Tours Blog

Hohhot – the cyan city

Posted by April on 9/23/09 • Categorized as Places

Hohhot at night

Hohhot (map) means “cyan city” in Mongolian language, so the city is also known as “qing cheng” (青城) in Chinese among the locals. It is the capital city of Inner Mongolian, serving as the region’s administrative, economic and cultural centre. It has over 2 million people living on its 17,224 sqm land. Chinese Mandarin accompanied with Mongolian language are on all public signs in Inner Mongolian.

get around Hohhot:

Airport (map) – Tel: +86 471 96777

Hohhot has one international airport, Hohhot Baita Inernational Airport (meaning White Pagoda airport). It is named after a White Pagoda (map) (Wanbu huayanjing Pagoda from the Liao dynasty between 916-1120 years) located 5.6km southeast of the airport. Baita Airport was first built in 1958, however, it only officially starts airing since 31 March 1992. Baita Airport is 10km east of Hohhot city centre. It was also served as one of the diversion airports for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

There are a couple of shops in the airport for souvenirs and snacks and an internet cafe priced at 50 kuai for as long as you want.

From/to the Airport:

There are three ways to get to and from the airport:

Taxi: A taxi ride between the airport and the city centre usually takes about 20-30 minutes and 30-40rmb, all you need is a print out of your destination or learn how to say airport in Chinese Mandarin. (Fei Ji Chang 飞机场)

Airport shuttle bus: the shuttle bus starts from Xinhua Square (map) in the city, and it sets off from the Flight Ticket Office in Xinhua Square every 90 minutes before a flight takes off. You can get the ticket from Xinhua Square, and the ticket costs 5kuai per person.

Public Bus No. 12: This public bus runs through 15 stops including Baita Airport in Hohhot, you can find all the No. 12 bus stops here on the map.

General Public Transportations:

Taxi: a taxi ride in Hohhot starts from 6rmb, after one km, you will be charged at 1rmb per km

Train & Long distant Coach: train Station and coach station are both located at the same place (map) but seperated in different buildings. There are trians and long haul coaches go to most of the cities and nearby towns.

Public buses priced from 5 Jiao to 2RMB. They link up key locations in the city and provide a darn cheap travel option within the city.

eating in Hohhot:

There are a wide range of restaurants and fast food chains (such as McDonald’s, K.F.C., Pizza-hut) in Hohhot.

However, for those of you who love to dig into some local specialities:

Naked Oat Noodles is the MUSDEF choice.

cold You Mian dish

Naked Oat Noodles are called “yóu miàn ” (莜面) in Chinese.

Naked oat almost can only be found growing in north China; its grain shell will crack open once it is ripe, this is where the naked part comes from. It is usually made into different shapes and steamed to cook.

You Mian Wowo

You can either dip them in lamb soup, vegetable soup or mix them up with vegetables and potato chunks to enjoy it as a cold dish. Spices and vinegar can be added in according to your own likings.

Suggested restaurant: Banmu Di Youmian Dawang (半亩地莜面大王)

The half mu naked oat noodle king for sure has a decent selections of You Mian.

Address: 3 Xiling South Road 锡林南路3号加利大厦 (Map)

Average Spend: 30RMB per person

Hotpot shall be the next adventure

Ok, hotpot is not exactly a local speciality for Hohhot, however, Hohhot does have one of the best lambs in the country, without trying the lamb cooked in those flavoured pots will be a real shame too.

Hotpot is called “Huo Guo” (火锅 fire wok) in Chinese

There are different kinds of pots served in Hohhot as well.

the traditional lamb pot

The traditional pot is made of copper and heated with special char coals inside at the bottom of the pot, there is a pipe on the top allow the smoke to come out, and a round copper trough around the pipe to keep hot water or soup for cooking your lamb and other food. The pot is usually placed in the middle of the table and a selection of dipping sauce will come with it as well. You will choose your own selection of meat and vegetables and place them in the trough to cook, then you dip the cooked food in your sauce before enjoy them. It used to be a very popular dish for the royal families in the Qing Dynasty, and now it is a great choice of food for a freezing cold winter in north China. Suggested restaurant: Jin Man Ying Lamb Pot (金满盈涮羊肉), Address: 8 Shengli Road, Xin Cheng district, Hohhot (新城区胜利路8号) Average spend: 40rmb per person (map)

the twin pot

The twin pot is a national favourite. It is a wok shaped pot with a divider in the middle, so with one pot you can enjoy both spicy and not spicy flavoured cooking soup. It is called “Yuan Yang Guo” (鸳鸯锅) in Chinese, named after the Chinese ducks, who always come in pairs. The pot is usually heated over a gas stove or electromagnetic stove. You can find it almost in every city in China. However, the biggest hotpot chain in the country is originally from Inner Mongolian. Suggested restaurant: Little Sheep Inner Mongolian Hotpot 小肥羊(锡林南路店), Address: block A, 105 South xilin Road, Saihan district (赛罕区锡林南路105号银都大厦都市华庭银A座). Average spend: 50rmb person (map)

The new individual pot is a modern invention during the recent years. Instead of everyone cooking and sharing the one big pot, you can have your own little private pot right in front you. It does look more “civilised” compare with the previous two kind, personally I always find that a huge amount of fun is missing with the absence of chopstick race in that one big pot. Suggested Restaurant: Cao jing jing (草菁菁), Address: 58 South dong ying street (东影南街58号). Average spend: 80rmb per person. (map)

Self served buffet restaurants

Pick and serve your own food with a wide selection right in front of you might as well be the easiest way for any one travelling in a foreign place.

Buffet restaurant in Holiday Inn (恒隆假日酒店): they have a great selections of both western and Chinese dishes and all taste reasonably good. Priced at: around 138rmb per person (not including drinks), Address: 185 west zhongshan road (中山西路185号) (map)

Haolunge Buffet restaurant (好伦哥自助): compare with the buffet in holiday inn, this one is a lot more Chinese styled. Priced at: 50rmb per person, address: 66 west zhongshan road (中山西路66号亚太大厦2楼) (map)