| content | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hohhot 呼和浩特 |
|
| — Prefecture-level city — | |
 |
|
 |
|
  Hohhot
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | China |
| Region | Inner Mongolia |
| County-level divisions | 10 |
| Township divisions | 116 |
| Established | 1580 |
| Government | |
| - CPC Committee Secretary | Han Zhiran (韩志然) |
| - Mayor | Tang Aijun (汤爱军) |
| Area | |
| - Prefecture-level city | 17,000 km² (6,563.7 sq mi) |
| - Urban | 149 km² (57.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,065 m (3,494 ft) |
| Population (2004) | |
| - Prefecture-level city | 2,580,000 |
| - Density | 151.8/km² (393.1/sq mi) |
| - Urban | 1,520,000 |
| - Urban Density | 10,201.3/km² (26,421.4/sq mi) |
| Time zone | China Standard Time (UTC+8) |
| Postal code | 010000 |
| Area code(s) | 471 |
| License plate prefixes | 蒙A |
| GDP (2006) | CNY 90 billion |
| - per capita | CNY 34,710 |
| Local Dialect | Jin: Hohhot dialect |
| Website: www.huhhot.gov.cn (Chinese) | |
Hohhot (Mongolian: , Kökeqota[1]; lit. "Blue Town"; Chinese: 呼和浩特; pinyin: Hūhéhàotè), occasionally spelled Huhehot or Huhhot, is a city in North-central China and the capital of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, serving as the region's administrative, economic, and cultural centre.
The city was founded by Mongol ruler Altan Khan in the late 16th century. In Chinese, the name can be abbreviated to Hū Shì (呼市) "Hu-town" or translated as Qīng Chéng (青城), also meaning "Blue City". A city with a rich cultural background, Hohhot is known for its historical sites and temples and is one of the major tourist destinations of Inner Mongolia. It was chosen as region's administrative centre in 1952, replacing Ulanhot.
Contents |
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, arch. Kwei-hwa): Southeastern old section, business district, established by Altan Khan around 1580.
- 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. Under then Inner Monglian-chairman Ulanhu, the city became the capital of Inner Mongolia in 1952.
The city has seen significant development since China's reform and opening began. The city's far east side began development around 2000 and is now home to Ruyihe, an artificial lake, a large number of condominiums, the municipal government, and most of the Autonomous Region's government buildings.
Geography and climate
Located in the south central part of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot is encircled by the Daqing Shan (大青山, Далан Хар Уул）or Great Dark Mountains to the north and the Hetao Plateau to the south. The climate is arid, with a cold winter, a hot summer, and strong winds, especially in spring. Hohhot is a popular destination for tourists during the summer months because of the nearby grasslands.
Culture and Demographics
11% of the city's population is of Mongol origin. Having been integrated into mainstream urban society, most Mongolians in the city speak fluent standard Mandarin in addition to Mongolian. Of the remaining population, most are Han Chinese descendants of people originally from Shanxi, or those who have migrated from Northeastern China and Hebei after the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. There is a small minority of Korean, Hui, Manchu, Uyghur population, amongst others. A significant portion of the population is of mixed ethnic origin. Mongols growing up in Hohhot are less likely to know Mongolian than those growing up in rural communities of the autonomous region.
Hohhot's look and feel for a visitor seems a combination of Mongol culture, Muslim-themed architecture, mixed with traditional elements of a mid-sized Chinese industrial urban area. Food specialty in the area is mostly focused on Mongolian cuisine and dairy products and there is a large selection of Halal Muslim restaurants. Although there is a significant Mongol population in the city, most ethnic Mongols, especially younger people, tend to only communicate in Mandarin Chinese. There is a linguistic divide between "old-town" folk, with a large Muslim Hui minority, who tend to converse in raw Hohhot dialect, which contains noticeable elements of Jin language of neighboring Shanxi province. It can be difficult to understand for a standard Mandarin speaker or even Mandarin speakers from the other side of the city. The newer more educated crowd mostly concentrated in Xincheng District, speak Hohhot-based Mandarin Chinese, the majority also with a noticeable, although comprehensible, accent.
Commercially Hohhot is known for being the base of nationally renouned dairy giants Yili and Mengniu.
Subdivisions
Hohhot includes 4 counties, 4 districts, and a county-level banner; 20 sub-districts, and 96 townships.
Districts include:
Counties include:
- Tokto County (托县)
- Tolmud Left Banner (土默特左旗)
- Wuchuan County (武川县)
- Holingol County (和林格尔县)
- Qingshuihe County (清水河县)
Transportation
By rail, Hohhot lies on the Jingbao Railway from Beijing to Baotou. Trains to Beijing link to destinations to the south and the northeast. The most prominent rail link with Beijing is the overnight K90 train, which has served the Hohhot-Beijing line since the 1980s and is referred to colloquially as simply "9-0" by locals. Westbound trains go through Baotou and Lanzhou. There are also rail links to most major Inner Mongolian cities and to Ulaanbaatar.
Hohhot's Baita International Airport (IATA:HET) is about half an hour from the city centre by car. It has direct flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Wuhan, Hong Kong, and to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Long distance buses connect Hohhot to Baotou (via the Hubao Expressway) and to other areas in Inner Mongolia.
The city has an extensive public transportation service composed of nearly one hundred bus routes and easily accessible taxicabs on all major streets. The taxi fare begins at 6 yuan.
Hohhot is unique in that its major north-south thoroughfares are called "Lu" and its east-west thoroughfares are called "Jie". This is roughly equivalent to dividing roads into "street" and "avenue" designation according to direction. The largest interchange is near the site of the city's Drum Tower, after which it is named after. Several major streets are named after Inner Mongolian leagues; of these, Hulun Buir, and Xing'an run north-south, while Ulan Chaab and Xilin Gol run east-west.
Education
Universities located in Hohhot include:
- Inner Mongolia University
- Inner Mongolia University of Agriculture
- Inner Mongolia Normal University
- Inner Mongolia University of Technology
- Inner Mongolia College of Medicine
- Inner Mongolia College of Finance and Economics
- Hohhot College of Education
- Hohhot College of Police
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.
Landmarks
- Tomb of Wang Zhaojun: 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 king, Chanyu. .
- Temple of the Five Pagodas: Constructed in 1732 with architecture very similar to that of Indian temples. In its walls there are more than 1,500 figures of Buddha.
- Da Zhao Temple: A Buddhist monastery constructed in 1579, the oldest in the city.
- Inner Mongolia Museum: Main exhibits include dinosaur fossils, historical artifacts of nomadic peoples, and the cultural life of modern nomadic peoples.
Notes
External links
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
