The Morigele River meandering its way through the grassland.	Happy Mongolian children.	A rainbow after a fall of rain on the grassland is considered auspicious.

Hailar is the seat of the Hulun Buir League of Inner Mongolia in northern China, the country's most lush, luxuriant and well-preserved grassland. In July and August, when the summer heat is at its most oppressive in the majority of Chinese cities, the average temperature in Hailar is around 20 º C. This makes Hulun Buir a favored sanctuary for escapees of China's urban dog days in peak summer season.

It takes 30 hours by train, or just 1 hour and 40 minutes by plane, from Beijing to Hailar. During summer, however, neither train nor plane tickets are easily obtainable. Many travelers chose to take the 1,800-km trip to Hailar via the Beijing-Shenyang Expressway and the Harbin-Hailar National Highway in their own vehicles. It's a long, tiring trip, but the gradual change of scenery from cityscape to endless grassland buoys the interest and makes driving a pleasure.

Hailar means "the place where wild chive grows" in the Mongolian language. The locals say that wild chive is a high-quality grazing grass, rich in protein and fat. The Hailar River runs through the north of the city, which is how the city got its name. Known as the Grassland Pearl, Hailar is the gateway to the Hulun Buir Grassland. With the tourism boom on the grassland in recent years, its municipal infrastructure and urban construction have developed rapidly and given the city a new look. Mongolian and Russian style buildings are interspersed with more contemporary works of architecture, but none of them are high-rises. They reflect a low and stout grassland architectural style.

The football pitch-sized Russian Shopping Center is where tourists to the city do the bulk of their shopping. It sells all kinds of Russian commodities, such as magnifying mirrors, perfume, Russian coins, knives, telescopes, coffee and cigarettes. The Katyusha Store offers quality Mongolian blade tools and other souvenirs, but its prices are higher than other shops, and, unlike other stores in the center, bargaining is prohibited within its walls.

Chen Barag Banner, which is 40 kilometers from Hailar City, is the closest destination for a riding delight on the Hulun Buir Grassland. Tourists can gallop on horseback, or take a leisurely ride on camelback, or observe Mongolian horsemanship and other folk skills. Local inhabitants are convinced of the healing properties of Shenquan spring water and will press visitors to sample it. The Jinzhanghan Tribe in Chen Barag epitomizes life as it was lived under Genghis Khan, revered “father” of Mongols." It was here that the great warrior united the Mongol tribes under his command in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and prepared to defeat the Han, prior to establishing the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). Today, Mongolian or Ewenki herdsmen canter over this rolling grassland under a blue sky and white clouds. At dusk, the sun highlights the scenic splendor of the nearby Morigele River, which meanders its way through the endless grassland. Accommodation, and also the chance to taste Mongolian mare's milk tea as well as clear, distilled liquor, is available at the Jinzhanghan Tribe and other nearby yurts.

Grassland Trip from Hailar to Manzhouli

The Hulun Buir Grassland is considered the cradle of Chinese northern nomadic tribes. It is where most of Chinese northern tribes, including the Xianbei, Nuzhen, Qidan and Mongolian, have their cultural roots. The most scenic part of the grassland is that from Hailar to Manzhouli. The view is best from the front seat of a car driving along the grassland roads, where from the window can be seen fluffy clouds that constantly change shape, yurts appearing like white mushrooms scattered along the rolling green grassland, and flocks of sheep, cattle and horses leisurely grazing. Rainfall is sudden, brief, and often followed by a rainbow.

Also to be seen while driving along the grassland are heaps of sand, stone or earth spread out as road markers, known as aobao by the Mongolians. There is a legend regarding the origins of aobao . Long ago, as the Mongolians lived a nomadic life they held "celestial burials." This entailed placing the body on an ox-driven carriage and sending it careering over the grassland. The spot where the corpse fell out of the carriage was the final destination meant for the dead. (The body is actually consumed by vultures and grassland wolves, hence the meaning of "celestial.") The method they devised of finding their way back to the "celestial" spot to pay their respects was that of taking a one-year-old camel with them when they conducted the burial rite, whose blood they would spill on the spot where the body had dropped. The next year, they would take the two-year-old camel or its mother to trace the route. If the young camel or its mother camel stopped walking, or shed tears on a spot, it was deemed to be the burial site. The herdsmen would then pile up a few stones or spread some sand or earth over the spot in a simple sacrificial ceremony. In the passage of time, heaps of sand, stone and earth have formed. Today, an aobao is considered sacred by the Mongolian people.

The grassland city of Manzhouli is an important port city on the China-Russia border. Many Chinese and Russian people can be seen passing through the Manzhouli customs office every day. It is also the starting point of Inner Mongolian tour groups to Russia, as a travel visa to Russia from Manzhouli takes only one day to issue.

There are Russian people living in Manzhouli, as evidenced by the many Russian license plates on the cars in its streets. The majority of buildings, such as the restaurants, hotels and bars on every street, are also in Russian style.

Darhulun Lake, a 30-minute drive southward from Manzhouli, is one of China's five fresh water lakes, and abounds in large fish and prawns. The most famous dish in Darhulun local restaurants is the Fish Banquet, which consists of local fish and prawns cooked in more than 140 different ways.

Mongolian Treats

The Mongolians are well known for their candor and also for their gargantuan lamb feasts accompanied by Mongolian distilled beverages.

Whole Lamb Banquet is a recommended dish for tour groups. It is usually a feature of main events or festivals, such as the Nadam Fair. Its method of preparation is similar to that of Beijing Roast Duck, in that it is first stuffed with seasonings before being roasted on a stove. The Mongolian host first displays the whole lamb, a red silk ribbon tied to its neck, on a wooden platter to all the guests before it is taken back to the kitchen and carved. The most important or senior member of the group is offered the lamb's head as a mark of respect.

Finger mutton, whereby mutton is carved into small cubes small enough to be eaten with the fingers is another traditional dish that has been handed down for hundreds of years among the Mongolians. The breast meat is presented to guests as a gesture of hospitality as, in the old Mongolian tradition, only nobles were entitled to this most tender meat.

Dip-boiled mutton slices -- shuanyangrou -- a dish commonly served and eaten in Beijing, also has a Mongolian origin. It is a dish that the chef of Kublai Khan (statesman, military strategist and first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty) is believed to have created in order to save time along the path of conquest to the north.

Imbibing is another Mongolian pastime, its original purpose to conserve energy and vigor amid the labors of pasturing. Alcohol also plays a main role in welcoming rituals. It is common to observe a Mongolian girl dressed in traditional costume, singing as she approaches a guest while proffering a silver cup of liquor and continuing to sing until he or she has quaffed three cups. This is the Mongolian traditional manner of expressing hospitality. If a guest does not drink alcohol, they can drink milk tea. The wide varieties of nutritious milk products in Inner Mongolia inhibit excessive intoxication.