Hohhot

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Hohhot

Hohhot (; Mongolian: Хөх хот), occasionally spelled Huhehot or Huhhot, is the capital city of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China. The name "Hohhot" (Хөх хот) is Mongolian for "blue city". The city dates back to the Ming Dynasty, and was chosen as Inner Mongolia's capital in 1947 over Baotou.

Population: 783,645 (2006 Est.), metropolitan area 1,139,741.
Area: __ km²
Abbreviation: Hu City (呼市 Hu-shi)
GDP per capita: ¥11789 (ca. US$1420) in 2003, ranked no. 201 among 659 Chinese cities.

History

Hohhot was founded by Altan Khan around 1580. Until 1954, Hohhot was referred to by the Chinese as Guisui (歸綏 Guīsuī), or Kweisui, which is the acronym of the two districts of the city:

Guihua (歸化): Southeastern old section, business district, established as a town in the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty
Suiyuan (綏遠): Northeastern "New Town", government district. Established in the 17th century by the Manchus.

The two sections later became Guihua District (歸化縣) of the Qing Empire, renamed to Guisui County (歸綏縣) in 1913, and upgraded to a city in 1950.

It was the capital of the defunct Suiyuan Province.

Geography

Located in the southern central part of Inner Mongolia.

Subdivisions

Hohhot includes 9 counties and county-level banners, 2 sub-districts, and 96 townships.

Demographics

11% Mongol, rest is mostly Han, with Korean, Hui, and other minorities.

Transportation

Hohhot is served by relatively convenient train and air transport. Hohhot Baita International Airport serves the city and surrounding areas, and has a direct flight to Ulan Bator.

Education

Universities located in Hohhot include:

Artifacts

There are over 50 sets of murals in southeastern Hohhot, including a "Horse-tending Image" (牧馬圖). Over 50 pre-modern Buddhist temples and towers.

Points of interest

Tomb of Wang Zhaojun: it is located to about nine kilometers to the south of the center of Hohhot. It is said to be the resting place of Wang Zhaojun, a commoner woman from the Chinese Han Empire who married a Xiongnu Chanyu. .
Temple of the Five Pagodas: of architecture very similar to that of Indian temples, the temple was constructed in 1732. In its walls there are more than 1,500 figures of Buddha.
Dazhao: Buddhist monastery constructed in 1579 and is oldest of the city.

External links

Cities in Inner Mongolia

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