Hailar

Hailar

　　Located in the northern reaches of Inner Mongolia, Hailar is the largest city in the Hulunbuir Prefecture, with a total population of around 220,000 and an area of 1440 square kilometers. The city, as befits its remoteness, is not the most exciting of places, a mainly industrial and agricultural area that sees few tourists. Your most probable reason for visiting here is not for the city itself but for the rolling grasslands that stretch for endless miles, located not far away.
　　The city has had some odd names in its time, from the "pearl of the grassland" (Caoyuan mingzhu), presumably when it was both smaller and an oasis of action for the wandering herdsmen, to "a place with wild leek" (Ye jiucai di), probably after the plants that used to line both sides of the Hailar River. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the city, however, is that it is a place a ethnic diversity. There are 25 different resident minority groups in Hailar, including the more common Han, Mongol and Hui and less prevalent groups such as the Manchurians, Koreans, Ewink and Daur peoples.
　　The areas outside of the city are interesting, including the grasslands area, that holds the impressive Hulun Lake, and the small border town of Manzhouli, that is filled with Russian border traders. To the north of Hailar lies a vast expanse of some of China’s most rugged areas, good for camping if allowed access, and good for the huge selection of wildlife that can be found here, many in the vast Daxin’anling Forest that spreads on into Heilongjiang.