Top 10 prairies you shouldn't miss in Inner Mongolia

Ready to embrace pastoralism and nomadism

Grassy meadows are a great place to take a break, enjoy hiking and the benefits brought by wide open spaces. They're also important habitats for many species including horses, goats, wild flowers and herbs. Here are top 10 prairies in the region:

No 1 Hulunbuir Prairie | 呼伦贝尔

Situated in northeast Inner Mongolia and named after Hulun Lake and Buir Lake, Hulunbuir Prairie or Hulun Buir Grassland is one of the world’s top 3 grasslands with an elevation between 650 and 700 meters, an area of about 100,000 square meters and natural grassland coverage of 80 percent.

A vast region with beautiful scenery, lush plants, over 3,000 crisscrossed rivers and 500 lakes dotted around, Hulunbuir Prairie is like a huge green picture scroll, giving you infinite views. It is presently one of the most well preserved grasslands in China and has more than 120 kinds of pastures such as stipa, alfalfa and wheat grass, hence being known as "The Grass Kingdom".

As the most plentiful and excellent pastures in China, it also holds the name of "The Purest Prairie" since it hardly has any pollution. Produce like meat, milk, leather, wool and other animal products in the region are favored by people from both domestic and foreign countries. This is also where Genghis Khan was born and it has also become a famous tourist resort.

Under the nutriment of thousands of rivers, the prairie presents itself underneath the blue sky and white clouds, with green grass, warblers, and flocks and herds surrounded all around. You can ride on camels and horses, watch wrestling and horse racing, enjoy a ‘lamb feast’ with ‘grassland’ flavor, as well as enjoy a good bonfire in the evening, while enjoying the unique lifestyle of nomads. 

Approximately 120 different kinds of pastures are found in this grassland. A seemingly endless lush-green carpet with colorful wild flowers makes the view of this grassland spectacular. After May, the green grassland gets dotted with colorful flowers, birds, and cattle and sheep scatter among the grasses. 

Cows graze on the grasslands of Xin Barga Left Banner, Hulunbuir League, Inner Mongolia autonomous region on July 25, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]

The summer landscape in the Hulunbuir Grassland in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region offers pastoral views and an ideal pasture for cattle and sheep to graze, July 14, 2018. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]