Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia, is the center of economy, culture, education and finance of the Region. It has a population of about three million. With a long history and splendid culture, Hohhot is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. The name of “Hohhot” in Mongolian means “the green city”, and it gains the fame as one of the major tourist destinations and economic cities. It is also world-widely known as the home of China's dairy giants--- Mengniu and Yili, and is praised as "the Dairy Capital of China".
Hohhot is located in the center of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region with the longitudes between 110°46 and 112°10 and the latitudes between 40°51 and 41°8, with the downtown area at the longitude of 111°41 and the latitude of 40°48. Hohhot covers an area of 17,224 square kilometers. It plays an important role as a border city that is open to the Republic of Mongolia and Russia. It is also known as the bridgehead connecting the east to the northwest and the north of China. It is also a major aviation center in the north of China.
Hohhot has distinct seasons, but with no extreme summer heat or winter cold. The annual average temperature is about 8 °C. The annual average amount of sunshine is over 3,000 hours, and the annual rainfall is 350-500 millimeters.
Hohhot is 500 kilometers from Beijing, a 10-hour train ride(about 20-30 dollars) or a 1-hour flight (75-80 dollars) away. In 2018, a high-speed rail between Hohhot and Beijing will start running and the ride will take only 2.5 hours.
