REGION OVERVIEW · 地区概览

Xilinhot overview 锡林浩特

Xilinhaote

Xilinhot's older urban identity centres on Beizi Temple and the aobao hill behind it.

Xilinhot in winter, photographed through an aircraft window
Xilinhot in winter, photographed through an aircraft window · 透过飞机舷窗拍摄的冬季锡林浩特 Source-recorded photograph date: 2024-01-30. · Crispx84 · CC0
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Full-frame source proportionally resized and converted to WebP for display. No subject alteration. Source-supplied marks and edits remain; cards may crop the view.

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Inner Mongolia · 内蒙古自治区 →Xilingol League · 锡林郭勒盟 →Xilinhot · 锡林浩特市 →

About Xilinhot

The monastery's courtyards contrast with the open ceremonial mound and the shopping streets around its square. Together they make an accessible introduction to the city before a longer drive onto the Xilingol grassland. Follow the temple with the hill and nearby Aobao or Ethnic Style Street, where clothing, dairy products and local craft shops connect heritage with everyday commerce.

During the Ming dynasty the area was home to descendants of Genghis Khan's elder brother, whose Mongols became known as the Abganar. After submitting to the Manchu in the seventeenth century, Abganar territory was divided into two banners, each led by a beile-rank prince. The settlement joined the newly founded Chahar Special Administrative Region in 1914, becoming part of Chahar Province in 1928, and later the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It was renamed Xilinhot in 1953, then Abahanaer Banner in 1956, before being approved as a county-level city and renamed Xilinhot again in 1983.

Xilinhot lies within the Xilin Gol grassland on the Inner Mongolian plateau, bordering West Ujimqin Banner to the east, Zhenglan Banner to the south, Abag Banner to the west and East Ujimqin Banner to the north. It covers 14,902 square kilometers with a population of about 110,000, mainly Han and Mongol. Terrain rises from a gently undulating northern plain to shallow southern hills, between 1,000 and 1,300 meters in elevation; Hanwula (汗乌拉), at 1,699.9 meters, is the highest point.

Every year the city holds the Naadam festival, a Mongolian summer gathering featuring wrestling, horse trading, costume contests and horse racing, with colorful yurts set up to serve food. Tapestries and monumental statues of Genghis Khan appear throughout the city, on homes, shops and street corners.

What to look for

  • Beizi Temple's enclosed courts and mixed architectural traditions.
  • E'erdun Aobao hill and the commercial streets surrounding Beizi Temple Square.

Location & getting there

Getting to Xilinhot

Start at Beizi Temple Square below E'erdun Aobao in northern central Xilinhot.

  • The temple, hill and surrounding shopping streets form the focused urban circuit; distant grassland resorts require a separate road outing.
General visit reminders

Use the Chinese name and exact local address when arranging your arrival. A city, district or neighbourhood can cover a wide area, so choose the particular streets or venues you want to visit and group nearby stops together. Check onward and return connections before committing to a distant extension.

Combine your visit

Suggested order within this visit:

  1. Beizi Temple贝子庙

    Begin with the monastery around which the earlier town developed.

  2. E'erdun Aobao

    Continue to the hill's ceremonial setting on the open public approach.

  3. Aobao or Ethnic Style Street

    Finish among the nearby local-product shops.

This sequence is an editorial suggestion based on the features described in the sources. Access to individual buildings or areas should be checked locally; no travel time or shared admission is implied.

City districts & landmarks · 城市街区／地标 →

Find Xilinhot overview

锡林浩特 · 锡林郭勒盟

Amap · 高德地图Approximate pin · 近似位置Apple Maps · 苹果地图

The pin marks the area, not the entrance.

More places nearby

Approximate straight-line distances between map pins, not travel distances.

Beizi Temple 贝子庙

2 km away

Beizi Temple stands below E'erdun Aobao hill in northern Xilinhot. Founded in 1743, the Tibetan Buddhist complex developed through successive enlargements and gave the city its former name. Its surviving halls combine Chinese…

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Dali Lake 达里诺尔

83 km away

Dali Lake, also called Dalinor, lies where the Gongger grassland approaches the Hunshandake sands. It is a closed saline lake with a wide horizon and important bird habitat around its margins. The southern visitor area adds the…

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Hexigten Global Geopark 克什克腾世界地质公园

139 km away

Hexigten Geopark is a dispersed geological landscape rather than a single enclosed park. Its best-known formations include the horizontally layered granite towers of Arshihaty and the rounded rock basins at Qingshan, with…

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Sources & visit information

The sources below support the place-specific description and arrival information. Suggested combinations are editorial planning ideas; confirm current opening, entry arrangements and transport services for your date.

Visitor information adapted and edited from Wikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 93132937.

Background paragraphs translated and condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "锡林浩特市", Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 93132937.

Background paragraphs condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "Xilinhot", English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 1373936935.

China Revealed · Editorially updated 2026-10-07