Bayannur
People's Republic of China · Asia
About Bayannur
Bayannur (Bayan Nur) or Bayannao'er is a prefecture-level city in western Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. Until 1 December 2003, the area was called Bayannur League.
Bayannur has an administrative area of 65,788 km2 (25,401 sq mi). The name of the city in Mongolian means "Rich Lake". As of the 2010 census, the population of Bayannur was 1,669,915; while the city proper, Linhe District, had 520,300 inhabitants.
The city is served by the Bayannur Tianjitai Airport.
The state of Zhao (403 BCE–222 BCE) controlled an area including modern-day Bayannur, while the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–24 CE) established a hierarchical Chinese administrative structure. The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) designated this area as part of "Inner Mongolia", but after its overthrow by the Republic of China (1912–1949), Bayannur was assigned to Suiyuan Province. Because of Mongol-Chinese cooperation with the Communist faction in the Chinese Civil War (stalled since 1950), Suiyuan was annexed to the new Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 1954, although not without controversy because of...
Bayannur travel guide
Getting there
By plane Flights from Beijing (PEK) to Bayan Nur (RLK) leave most weekday mornings at about 8am.
By train The main train station in Bayan Nur is Linhe Station, which is well connected to other parts of China, but no high-speed trains pass through this region yet. A ride to Baotou takes about two and a half hours and costs ¥32.5 (as of 2019).
Eat
Traditional Mongolian food is found throughout Inner Mongolia. This is typically high in dairy produce such as milk, yoghurt and cheese. The traditional Mongolian milk tea is exceptionally good. Meats, especially lamb, form most meals. The meat is usually roasted with a coating of spices to give a strong distinctive flavour. Similar with many areas of China, the hotpot is a popular style of cooking. Mongolian hotpot usually has a well flavoured soup but without the hot spices of central China.
Drink & nightlife
Mongolian milk tea is distinctive to this region and frequently served in hotels along with breakfast. Some brands of Mongolian bottle water are known for their purity or special mineral content.
Go next
It is possible to travel to the Republic of Mongolia, (Outer Mongolia) and Russia from here by both road and rail. There are good connections into the southern neighbouring provinces of China.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.