Hohhot （呼和浩特）

                                                                     大家好！

For Spring Break, I decided to travel to Inner Mongolia (内蒙古). Last semester, I saw a movie that took place in Inner Mongolia and decided that I would like to visit Inner Mongolia myself. Despite the name Inner Mongolia, it is actually an autonomous region in China. I went to the capital of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot (呼和浩特). 呼和浩特 was a very interesting place. It was very unique compared to the other cities I have visited in China so far. My favorite part was seeing the Mongol influence that was still there. A lot of signs have both Mandarin and Mongolian written on them. The Mongolian script is very beautiful too. On the buses in Beijing, the voice recording is in Mandarin and English but in 呼和浩特 is is in Mandarin and Mongolian. The Mongolian language sounds very similar to Russian or Eastern European languages. Interesting fact about 呼和浩特 is that it is often called the "Blue City." The color blue in Mongol culture is associated with the sky, purity, and eternity. According to the 2000 census, about 8.5% of the population in 呼和浩特 were Mongols.

The first day that we arrived in 呼和浩特 (by sleeper train no less) we went to Dazhao Temple (大昭寺) the Five Pagoda Temple (五塔寺）and the Islamic Food Street. The Five Pagoda Temple is a Buddhist Temple that was constructed from 1727-1732 by a Mongol monk. When we went to the Five Pagoda Temple there was no one there and we were wondering where everyone was. Then we went to Dazhao Temple and there was a Spring Festival party going on. It felt like everyone from the city was there. They were burning incense and just having a great time. Dazhao Temple is probably the most famous temple in 呼和浩特. It is also the oldest and largest temple in the city. The temple finished being constructed in 1579. The third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyasto, visited the temple in 1586 and blessed it. Now people from all over Mongolia come and visit the temple. It was really cool being there during the Spring Festival and seeing everyone praying and burning incense. It felt a little bit like we were in the way but I enjoyed getting to see people live their everyday life. After we left there we went to the Islamic Food Street. I bought some yak milk tea (牦牛奶茶). I should have known that it was going to be bad since it was only 5 kuai and the lady scooped it out of a bucket. It tasted like straight up liquid butter though. If you ever find yourself visiting 呼和浩特 you have to try something yak related whether it be yak milk or yak meat. Then you can decide for yourself whether you like it or not.

The next day we went to Zhaojun Tomb (昭君墓). Zhaojun Tomb is the resting place of Wang Zhaojun, a commoner woman from the Han dynasty. She married a nomadic chieftain named Xiongnu Chanyu. Fun fact, Wang Zhaojun is not actually buried there. Her true grave and cause of death are unknown. I thought it was really cool. Unfortunately, most of the places at the site were closed and it was so windy that we couldn't even climb up to the top of the mound. However, it was beautiful and I think in the summer time it most be a really cool place to go to.

On the last day we went to the Inner Mongolian Museum (内蒙古博物馆). This museum is huge! It was founded in 1957 for the tenth anniversary of Inner Mongolia becoming an autonomous region. The museum has many artifacts from ethnic tribes such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Qidan, and Mongolians. It also offers insight into the traditions and history of Mongolians. There are three floors in the museum. The first floor is dedicated to nature, the second to history, and the third to culture. My favorite floor was probably the second floor. There was one exhibit where we got to see some of the nomadic tribes that lived in the area before the Mongolians and now Han Chinese. While we were there, an old man saw us and stopped to check out the white people. We took pictures with him and his family and then every time he saw us in the museum he would smile and wave at us. There was also a little girl who was too shy to ask for a photo. When we told her she could take a picture with us we were swarmed by about ten other Chinese families trying to take photos with us. We were celebrities for the day.

I had a great time in 呼和浩特 and would like to go back and explore the grasslands since it was too cold to go this time.

Until next time.

再见！

郎马乐