Hohot
 The
city of Hohhot, located about 400km west
of Beijing, is at an altitude of 1,500 meters
above sea level. The city is known mostly
as a stopping point for travellers who wish
to sample the grasslands that can be found
from 80 to 170km from the city or for those
moving on to the Republic of Mongolia to
the north.
Hohhot has been known by many
names in its time. The area, for over a
thousand years, was a popular resting spot
for Mongol nomads, and grew to become the
"Blue City", an allusion to the
azure skies that are rarely troubled by
cloud. The city itself was officially established
in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), growing
largely due to its religious buildings,
and came to be called the City of Temples
and Lamaseries (Zhaocheng). The Nationalist
government under Sun Yatsen, and then Chiang
Kaishek, were to refer to the city as Guisui,
but with the Communist succession in 1950,
it returned to its roots, being known in
Chinese either literally as the Blue City
(Qingcheng) or phonetically as Hohhot (Huhehaote
or Huhaote).
The city was officially designated
as the capital of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous
Prefecture in 1952, and has now become the
prefecture's economic and political center.
With a population of just over 800,000,
the city is not overly big, although is
the second largest in the province. Much
has changed in the city since the early
twentieth century, and its fame as city
of temples and lamaseries is somewhat offset
by the predominant high-rises and modern
buildings that now make up much of the city.
The majority of industry here is centered
upon machine building, refineries, other
factories and the production of hide and
wool. Tourism is also a big earner, as anyone
meeting the train station's swarms of touts
will soon find out.
 Nowadays
it is the Han Chinese that are in the majority
here, closely followed by the Mongols that
make up 11% of the total population and
the Muslim Hui Minority. It is in the southwestern
end of the city, around the Xilituzhao and
Dazhao temples, that these and other minorities
can be found, including the Ewenki, the
Daur and the Manchurian groups.
Much of the history of
this area may have been lost from the face
of the modern city but there are a few things
that bring back the past. One is the symbol
of Inner Mongolia, the rearing horse, that
has been appearing all around Hohhot, a
throwback to the days when screaming hordes
of Mongols conquered over half the known
world. This was best highlighted when a
stone figure of Chairman Mao was removed
from the city center's lively Xinhua Square,
to be replaced by a statue of a galloping
horse. The history is also brought back
to life in the city's Prefectural Museum,
that has a flying horse fittingly attached
to its roof, and in the celebration of the
Naadam Festival (see end of Inner Mongolian
Best Time to Visit) that passes through
the streets and houses around August every
year.
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