Hulunbeier Travel Guide

Hulunbeier is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Inner Mongolia. It covers an area of 25.3 square kilometers (about 9.8 square miles) which is the sum areas of Shandong and Jiangsu provinces. To the east, it is adjacent to Nenjiang River and neighbors on Heilongjiang Province; to the west, it is next to Mongolia; to the south, it shares the border with the Xing'an League; to the north, it borders upon Russia by the Eerguna River. The administrative center of Hulunbeier is located at Hailar district, its largest urban area.

 Geography 
Located on the plateau, Hulunbeier has three main landforms, mountains, hills and valley plain. To the east of the Great Khingan are the hills and valley plain, with the elevation ranging from 200 to 650 meters (656 to 2,132.5 feet); in the middle part of this area is the forest area in the sand and the altitude is from 800 to 1700 meters (2,624.6 to 5,577.4 feet); the western part of the area is the grassland, 600 to 800 meters (1,968.5 to 2,624.6 feet).

 History 
From 10th to 12th century, Hulunbeier belonged to the Liao Kingdom (916 - 1125). From 12th to 13th century, it was owned by the Jin Kingdom (1115 - 1234). In 1214, Genghis Khan the founder of the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), granted this piece of land to his brothers. From 1368 when the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) was founded, it was governed by the imperial court of Ming. Till 1734 during the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), the Hailar City was founded here. On 1st January 1948, this region was renamed Hulunbeier League, under the administration of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region government. In October 2001, Hulunbeier League was displaced by the prefecture-level Hulunbeier City, approved by the State Council. 

 Climate 
The climate types of Hulunbeier are divided by the Great Khingan. East side of the mountain belongs to the seasonal climate while the west side is of the continental climate. With the annual amount of rainfall at 500 to 800 millimeters (19.7 to 31.5 inches), the east side is a sub-humid zone, while most parts of the west side is semiarid and the annual rainfall is 300 to 500 millimeters (11.8 to 19.7 inches). Generally, the winter is very cold and dry and the summer is usually hot and rainy. The annual and daily difference in temperature is large, with the annual average temperature at -5 to 2 degrees Centigrade (23 to 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit). 

 Natural Resources
Hulunbeier is endowed with an 80,000-square-kilometer (30,888 square miles) natural grassland and a 120,000-square-kilometer (46,332 square miles). It possesses more than 3,000 rivers including the Eerguna River, the Kelulun River and the Yalu River, and over 500 lakes, such as the Hulun Lake and the Beier Lake. In addition, the world famous Hulunbeier Grassland is reputed as the 'Jade of the Northland' as well as a piece of 'Green Pure Land'. It is said the best time to travel here is from July to September. 

 What to see: Hulunbeier Grassland