Description : A relaxed little town with a huge covered market and buses to Genghis Khan's Mausoleum.

Comments : There is little reason to come here except for the Mausoleum or to avoid staying in Baotou.  But whether the Mausoleum itself is worth an additional 4 hours to and back is questionable...

What to do : If you arrive in the morning, change bus to the Mausoleum / If you arrive in the afternoon, write letters or watch TV as the town  "attractions" should not take you more than a couple of hours to check out... / In the evening, become obese at the local fast food and play snooker, the local No1 distraction after karaoke...

What you may not like : The lack of serenity at the Mausoleum / Not having a good program on TV / Being the attraction of the town / Having communication problems, even if you speak Chinese / The hurling music-karaoke speakers at every corner /

How long ? One day should be enough if you arrive in the morning.

Where to stay ?

• Mingzhen Hotel, opposite the bus station, infos & rooms photos inside the bus station / Dorm 12(4), 18(3), 18,22 or 25 (2) without bath / Sgl without bath  22, 29 or 35 / With bath : 40, 45 or 50 for a bed in Dbl / HW 24 hours // Go there for the cheapest prices in town and to check the rooms and sanitary. / What you may not like : the size of the rooms

• The Continental Grand Hotel (832 1532) / Dorm 15(5), 25 (3 or 4), 30 (2 or 3) without bath / Dbl or Sgl with shower 100 or 150 / OK toilets & bath / HW 24 hours // Go there for the nice rooms and the great Dbl at relatively good price... / What you may not like : not being able to get a discount, the very audible noise until 2am from the disco-karaoke 3 floors below !

•  Ih Ju League Hotel (832 1567) / Dbl without bath 60 / Dbl with bath 120 / OK toilets & shower / HW 24 hours // Go there if the previous hotel is full or to try to get a discount. 

• Dongsheng Hotel (832 7333) / Dbl or Trpl with bath start at 122 or 138 / HW 24 hours // Go there for the nice lobby and attentive service. What you may not like : the not so fresh rooms

• The Minzu Hotel was closed at the time of writing but was scheduled to reopen. It was previously the cheapest place to stay so it might be worth checking it...

Minzheng Hotel	minzheng fandian
Continental Grand Hotel	wuzhou jiudian
Ih Ju League Hotel	yike zhaomeng binguan
Dongsheng Hotel	dongsheng dajiudian
Minzu Hotel	minzu fandian

Where to eat ?  Like all the local, you should head to the local fast food Xin Xin on Yijinhuoluo Xijie : huge choice of good entrees, meats, noodles, dumplings, soup, desserts, drinks and everything in between at very reasonable prices. All the dishes are on display so it is easy to make your selection and order too much...

What to see/visit  ?

• Genghis Khan's Mausoleum : (3), Y25, Exp

To go there, you have the choice of either a direct big bus for Y7 or a minibus to Ejin Horo for Y5, where buses to the Mausoleum leave hourly from 9 to 18 (Y4). The first solution is faster and cheaper.

To come back, you will have to wait for a bus at the main road (hourly, last one at around 18) and the chance are that you will find yourself in a minibus to Ejin Horo. From there, buses back to Dongsheng leave every 30mn when packed from 7 to 19 and cost 7Y.

In between, what you will see might not make you jump around with excitement. The mausoleum look new and there is no caption in English for the few exhibits on display. Besides, the tourists shops and karaoke parlors might make you feel that you are more in an attraction park than in a commemorative place.

The place should however feel much more "exotic" around the Naadam tourist carnival usually held in mid-august.

There is accommodations next to the parking (really a beautiful area to spend an evening) but some people might prefer to stay near the Temporary Residence of the Khan and the grassland. It should cost around 50Y for a traditional yurt of 4/5 persons.

• Mingsheng Indoor Market : (3), free

A huge place where you will find everything from electronic goods to clothes, cookies, vegetables, spices or cold noodle "restaurants"

• Jinyuan Ancient City : (2), free

This single street with ugly "old style" recreated buildings as somehow become the red district of Dongsheng with plenty of cinema, karaoke parlor and what usually come with them...

• Dongsheng Park : (3), Y0.5

Once the bulldozer away, it should be a nice park to stroll around after you finished writing your letters.

Bus Schedules :  

Note : To Mausoleum via Ejin Horo / Dur. = approximative duration

The trip to Hohhot : Iveco / SSSS / L / Y33 / 4 hours

It's definitively worth paying a few more yuan for the relative comfort and speed of the Iveco bus. But make sure you buy your ticket the day before as seats are limited. By sitting on the left, you avoid the sun and get a full view of the mountains.

We arrived in Hohhot at the South Bus Station from where it is a 20mn No1 Bus ride (0.5Y) to the train stations' terminus and the hotels.

See also the trip from Baotou East to Dongsheng...