By Wu Yong from People’s Daily
After entering China through the Erenhot Port in Xilingol league, north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, many Mongolian tourists make their way directly to Ulanqab. There, they find a welcoming stopover – a place to unwind and begin a journey of leisure and discovery.
Centuries ago, Ulanqab was already a thriving trading post along the Silk Road of the grasslands and the “Tea Road of the North.” Along the historic Zhangku Avenue – from Zhangjiakou on China’s northern frontier to Kulun (present-day Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia) – a continuous stream of merchants once traveled, facilitating trade and cultural exchanges.
Today, Ulanqab remains a vital gateway linking China with Mongolia, Russia, and beyond. With six railways, seven expressways, and eight national highways converging in the region, the city has evolved into a major transportation hub. It serves as a crucial non-provincial capital node for both the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Europe freight train routes.
From the iconic Phoenix Tower, visitors are treated to panoramic views of verdant boulevards and meandering rivers. Hot spring resorts in the area offer a full suite of amenities – from therapeutic baths to wellness spas. “I came for the long history and incredible cuisine,” said 80-year-old Mongolian tourist Dabuge Sumberel.
“Many Mongolian travelers make Ulanqab their first destination in China,” said local tour guide Husileng. “Thanks to its excellent connectivity and diverse attractions, the city has become an ideal gateway for cross-border tourism.”
Ulanqab’s Jining district is home to the largest leather goods distribution center in northern China. The bustling scene of customers selecting fur and leather products evokes memories of the city’s commercial prosperity in centuries past. “Jining’s fur trade has a long and well-established history, attracting many Mongolian visitors,” said Yang Jun, who manages tourism operations at the center.
Seventeen-year-old Mongolian girl Hulan visited Ulanqab for the first time and was captivated by the city’s offerings. After buying leather boots for herself and her parents, she continued browsing. “The craftsmanship is excellent, the designs are beautiful, and the prices are affordable. It’s hard not to fall in love with the place.”
At the core of Ulanqab’s cultural appeal lies Qahar culture, a distinct and vital strand of the grassland civilization that remains deeply embedded in local life and plays an important role in fostering people-to-people exchanges.
“‘Qahar’ refers to a Mongolian tribe originally formed as a guard unit during the reign of Genghis Khan,” explained Ou Jun, a professor with Jining Normal University. “Its cultural essence is defined by openness, inclusiveness, kindness, and integrity.” As one of the earliest Mongolian tribal cultures to blend with agrarian traditions, Qahar heritage has flourished in Ulanqab, a major center of its development.
“Ulanqab has developed rapidly, and tourism here is booming. I believe this has much to do with the local people, who are hard-working, sincere, and warm-hearted,” said 37-year-old Mongolian tourist Uyuntsetseg.
On the grasslands of Qahar Right Wing Rear Banner, rows of modern yurts rise gracefully above the prairie, resembling clouds suspended above the earth. “These yurts are slightly elevated from the ground, and from a distance, they look like floating clouds,” said Tonrig, an inheritor of Mongolian yurt craftsmanship. “That’s why I named them Ulunggeri, meaning ‘cloud houses’ in Mongolian.”
Traditional Mongolian yurts, though iconic, are typically small, lack privacy, and have no built-in sanitation facilities. To adapt the tradition to contemporary life, Tonrig has reimagined the structure, integrating modern design and digital technology with traditional techniques.
While preserving the circular silhouette of the classic yurt, he reconstructed its framework using Russian Scotch pine and added modern polyurethane insulation to enhance thermal performance. Solar panels now crown the roofs, and each yurt is equipped with an integrated mobile biological wastewater treatment system, combining ecological preservation with modern convenience.
Now, Ulunggeri yurts are making their way beyond Chinese borders. In 2024, a 30-meter-diameter yurt covering nearly 1,000 square meters was completed at a resort in Ulaanbaatar. That same year, Tonrig shipped a computer numerical control (CNC) machine from Shandong, China, to Mongolia and sent a technician to facilitate local production of Ulunggeri yurts.
At the manufacturing facility, components like central skylights and roof beams, adorned with auspicious Mongolian motifs, are precisely carved by the CNC machine. Tonrig now simply sketches the design on paper, and the machine faithfully replicates the intricate beauty of traditional craftsmanship.
In Ulanqab, inclusiveness continues to weave a new tapestry of cultural exchanges and mutual learning – stitch by stitch, across time and space.
Ulanqab, gateway to grassland Silk Road and cradle of Qahar culture
