Wulan Butong Grassland, Inner Mongolia, China

5Rincewind 5:00 PM Aug 20, 2017

Very attractive grassland
This area of grassland in Inner Mongolia abuts onto another area of grassland and forest in Hebei province. Together, they form Saihanba National Forest Park. Saihanba park consists of three areas: two in Hebei and one in Inner Mongolia. If travelling to see the grasslands, you are better coming here via Chengde in Hebei province rather than from Chifeng city in Inner Mongolia. Wulan Buton Grasslands are visually distinct from rest of Saihanba park. The trees are much fewer and the grass more extensive. There are fewer tourist sites to visit than in the other two section of the part too. However, I'd say that is a good thing. If you want to experience the remote expanse of the grasslands without tourist touts and stalls selling tourist tat, then head to this part of Saihanba park. Stop your car somewhere at the side of the road and go walking out into the wilderness. I visited the grasslands driving my own car. Really, to see this park, you need to come by car. The grasslands and forests here are huge. I mean, you can drive 50 km in any direction and still be inside Saihanba park. Only with a car, can you get out and experience the huge expanse of grasslands and forests. If you come here by tour bus, you'll just get dragged around a few tourist spots, populated by so many other noisy tourists, touts and stalls. Wulan Buton Grasslands was included in the ticket price for Saihanba park. The tickets cost me 110 RMB per adult and are valid for 3 days in the park. There are checkpoints between the three main sections of the park where you have to show your ticket to proceed. Within the park, most scenic spots are free but a few do charge an additional entrance fee. My hotel suggested that these people charging fees might not be legitimate and we found that you could haggle the prices down to 10 RMB. We paid 30 RMB for my daughter to ride a horse for half an hour. The best part of the experience was when we parked in a remote spot, walked over the hill from the road, pitched our tent on the grass and had a picnic. If you are keen on wildlife, there is a lot to be seen here. There is a great abundance of different kinds of flowers and plants. Squirrels and chipmunks are a common sight. I also spotted several kinds of birds that I hadn't seen before.

4Nicholas S 5:00 PM Oct 23, 2016

Autumn splendor
Made a road trip from Beijing. Took about 7 hours to drive up. Stayed in Wulan Butong town. Basic amenities (accommodations and restaurant) but rewarded by fall's beautiful palette. Rust to gold and every shade in between. Hired a guide with his trusty SUV. Kids had fun on the ATV and horse riding whilst I was more than satisfied taking photographs of the vast landscape and horses. Don't miss feasting on "yang-rou-chuan" - grilled lamb skewers.