Travel Expert Recommendation!
As a travel blogger specializing in grasslands, deserts, and nomadic culture, I have carefully planned a 6-day, 5-night in-depth Inner Mongolia trip covering grasslands, deserts, and culture, with a total budget controlled at 12,000 RMB per person. It’s perfect for couples, families, or friends traveling together, seeking **comfortable experiences + authentic local flavor + high-quality photography + light luxury camping vibes. This is a journey crossing from the Hulunbuir Grassland to the Xiangshawan Desert, spanning the essence of eastern and western Inner Mongolia, witnessing the vastness where “the wind blows the grass low to reveal cattle and sheep,” and feeling the grandeur of “the desert’s lone smoke rising straight.”---
📍Travel Theme: Grassland Pastoral Song · Desert Sunset · Mongolian Culture · Wild Luxury Experience
📅 Recommended Travel Time: June to August (best season for grasslands) or September (golden autumn colors, fewer crowds)
👫 Suitable For: Couples / Families / Photography Enthusiasts / Light Luxury Travelers
💰 Total Budget: 12,000 RMB (per person)
✅ Comfortable without compromise, play with a high-end feel!---
💰
Budget Breakdown (12,000 RMB per person) | Item | Cost | Description
||------|------|------||
| Round-trip Major Transport | 4,000 RMB | Assuming flights from Beijing/Shanghai/Guangzhou to Hohhot + Hailar, round-trip tickets including taxes |
| Local Transport | 1,500 RMB | 6-day car rental (SUV, including driver + fuel + tolls), cost shared per person |
| Accommodation (5 nights) | 3,500 RMB | Covers grassland Mongolian yurt campsites, desert view rooms, four-star hotels, averaging 700 RMB/night |
| Meals | 1,500 RMB | 250 RMB/day × 6 days, including specialty meals + barbecue + milk tea feast |
| Attraction Tickets & Experiences | 1,000 RMB | Horse riding, sand sliding, bonfire party, Nadam festival performance, etc. |
| Others (Insurance + Souvenirs) | 500 RMB | Travel insurance + handmade silver jewelry/dairy product souvenirs |
|✅ Total Cost: 12,000 RMB | Reasonably allocated, maximize your experience!---
📅
Itinerary (6 days, 5 nights · Highlights Version)
Day 1: Arrive in Hailar → Gallop across Hulunbuir Grassland
- Arrive at Hailar Dongshan Airport, private car pick-up
- Drive through Hulunbuir Grassland, photographing cattle and sheep, windmills, and herders’ tents along the way
- Afternoon: Check in at the grassland starry sky Mongolian yurt camp (private bathroom + floor heating, not a traditional simple yurt)
- Evening: Participate in the welcome ceremony (offering khata scarves, drinking horse milk wine)
- Dinner: Hand-held meat + milk tea + whole roasted lamb platter (group order for whole lamb is more cost-effective)
- Night: Grassland bonfire party + starry sky photography (summer Milky Way clearly visible)
📌 Blogger Tip: Large temperature difference on the grassland, bring a windbreaker! Mongolian yurts get cold at night; camps usually provide electric blankets.---
Day 2: Deep into the Grassland · Horseback Visit to Herders
- Morning: Professional horse riding experience (1 hour, guided by an instructor, safe and secure)
- Noon: Visit a herder’s family, milk cows, feed lambs, make milk skin
- Lunch: Herder’s homemade dishes (yogurt pancakes, wild vegetable soup, dried beef)
- Afternoon: Stroll along the Morigele River (“the world’s first winding river”), photograph the nine bends
- Evening: Return to camp, free time or join a grassland stargazing class
📌 Photo Spots: Morigele River high point, herder’s courtyard, horseback silhouette---
Day 3:
Manzhouli Border Gate · Russian Fairy Tale City
- Drive to Manzhouli (about 3 hours), a Sino-Russian border city
- Afternoon: Visit the Border Gate Scenic Area (ticket 60 RMB) + Sino-Russian trade zone
- Evening: Check in at the Matryoshka Doll-themed hotel in Manzhouli (exterior looks like Russian nesting dolls, extremely dreamy)
- Night: Night tour of Manzhouli, photograph the Matryoshka Doll Square light show + Russian-style architecture on Sino-Soviet Golden Street
- Dinner: Rubly Western Restaurant, enjoy Russian borscht + stewed beef in a pot (about 80 RMB per person)
📌 Blogger Recommendation: Manzhouli is “China’s most European city,” photos look like Moscow!---
Day 4:
Kubuqi Desert · Xiangshawan “Lotus Resort”
- Morning flight from Hailar to Hohhot (1.5 hours, ticket about 800 RMB)
- After pick-up, drive 1.5 hours to Xiangshawan Scenic Area (one of China’s three echoing sands)
- Check in at Lotus Resort Hotel (five-star wild luxury camp in the desert, rooms face the sand dunes!)
- Afternoon: Desert dune buggy + sand sliding + camel riding (super immersive experience)
- Evening: Climb high to photograph the desert sunset, golden sand sea flowing like molten gold
- Dinner: Desert starry sky barbecue feast, accompanied by Mongolian long song performance
📌 Blogger Tip: The “echo” in Xiangshawan comes from sand grains rubbing together, you can hear a buzzing sound when sliding on the sand!---
Day 5:
Light Desert Adventure · Nadam Spirit Reenactment
- Morning: Participate in a small Nadam experience (archery, wrestling performance, Mongolian dance)
- Optional: 3 km desert hike or zipline
- Noon: Enjoy Mongolian-style buffet at the resort
- Afternoon: Free time (photography, drink milk tea, daydream)
- Evening: Join desert meditation + wish-making ceremony (camp special activity)
- Dinner: Exquisite Mongolian meal at Lotus Restaurant (stewed dried lamb with potatoes, milk tofu)
📌 Photo Spots: Lotus Hotel dome, camel caravan silhouette, sand dune curves---
Day 6:
Return to Hohhot → Take away grassland memories
- Morning: Check out and head to Hohhot
- Visit Inner Mongolia Museum (free, must-see dinosaur fossils + nomadic civilization exhibits)
- Lunch: Gerile Ama Mongolian meal (hand-held meat, milk tea, sand onion buns, about 60 RMB per person)
- Afternoon: Stroll through Sai Shang Old Street, buy souvenirs:
- ✅ Milk tofu, milk skin, dried beef
- ✅ Mongolian silver jewelry, horsehead fiddle miniatures
- Return according to flight schedule---
🎒 Travel Blogger Tips:
1. Clothing Suggestions:
- Grassland: Windbreaker + sun hat + sunglasses (strong UV)
- Desert: Breathable long sleeves + sand-proof shoe covers + headscarf
- Cold at night, bring a light down jacket or fleece
2. Photography Equipment:
- Wide-angle for grassland/desert
- Telephoto for cattle and sheep
- Tripod for starry sky
3. Pitfall Warnings:
- Do not step on Mongolian yurt thresholds (taboo for herders)
- Negotiate desert activity prices in advance, clarify car rental fees in writing
- Choose dairy products with proper packaging to avoid stomach issues
4. Best Shooting Times:
- Grassland: Early morning 5:30-7:00, misty
- Desert: 17:00-19:00, best light and shadows---
✅ Summary: 12,000 RMB for a soul escape | What you gain | Value far beyond ten thousand yuan
||----------|----------------||
| In-depth Hulunbuir Grassland Experience | China’s Most Beautiful Grassland |
| Manzhouli Russian Fairy Tale City | Highly praised photos on social media |
| Xiangshawan Desert Wild Luxury Accommodation | Live inside the scenery |
| Mongolian Culture Immersion | Horse riding, archery, Nadam festival |
| Hand-held Meat + Whole Roasted Lamb + Milk Tea | Authentic Mongolian cuisine to the fullest |
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📩 Bonus Time: If you want me to make for you:
- 📄 PDF version of “Inner Mongolia Travel Map” (including car rental routes + gas stations + restroom locations)
- 🍖 “Grassland & Desert Food Safety Guide”
- 📸 “Starry Sky + Sunset + Portrait Photography Parameter Templates”
Leave a message and I’ll send them to you for free! May you ride on horseback, the wind blowing past your ears, hearing the rhythm of your heartbeat between grassland and desert. This journey is not just travel, it’s a return. 🐎🏜️🌌 — Your Travel Blogger · Grassland Diary