North China
Hulunbuir is the largest prefecture-level city on earth by area, and almost all of it is grass, river and birch forest. Kazakh herders, Russian-influenced border towns and a horizon that stays flat for an hour at a time.
The case for going
The ox-bow meanders on the grassland road south of Hailar, best at sunrise.
A boardwalk over the root-river system that feeds the Argun, with a view over the whole basin.
A hill above the grassland where the light goes orange for twenty minutes.
The border town’s Russian kitsch at full volume, and the national gate 8 kilometres away.
The fifth-largest freshwater lake in China, with birdlife and a fish lunch on the shore.
Practical
Cold continental. Short warm summers, long severe winters; June to September is the travelling window.
Hailar Dongshan (HLD) has flights from Beijing, Hohhot and Harbin; Manzhouli (NZH) serves the border town.
Airport. Hulunbuir Hailar Dongshan Airport (HLD)
Rail. No HSR; the Hailar–Manzhouli line is a slow overnight or a 3-hour drive on the G301.
In pictures
Questions travellers ask
Four to five for the grassland loop: the Erguna wetlands, the border at Manzhouli, and the river bends — the distances are long and the drives are the itinerary.
A yurt camp on the grassland for at least one night — the sunrise over the steppe is the point — with Hailar as the hub city between legs.
Fly into Hailar (HLD) from Beijing or Harbin, about 2 hours. A car with a driver is the only sane way to run the loop; the distances are 100 to 300 kilometres a day.
From June to September it is the largest intact grassland in China and the most photogenic — the river bends at dusk are the image of Inner Mongolia. Winter is for the ice-and-snow version only.
Routes through here
North China
5days
Hulunbuir is the largest stretch of unbroken grassland in China, running east from Hailar to the Russian border. Five days of driving, herder lunches, river bends at sunrise, and one very strange border town.
From US$1,400per person
Where to stay
Airui · Luxury
A new eleven-storey property on the Yimin river in central Hailar, blending Mongolian motifs with a clean modern fit-out. The practical base for grassland loops: free airport transfer and cars that leave at dawn.
From US$150 per night
Valid to 2027-03-31
Independent · Luxury
The historic house in the border town, restored with its 1900s stone facade intact and Russian-speaking staff on the desk. Rooms are the largest in Manzhouli, and the bar looks straight down the main street.
From US$120 per night
Valid to 2027-03-31
