To celebrate Golden Week last month, I took a trip out to Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia. Part Mongolian, part Chinese, Inner Mongolia, or 内蒙古, is a perfect travel destination for anyone fed up with the grind of the big city life in Beijing or Shanghai. Featuring plenty of incredible Buddhist temples, a mosque, hiking opportunities, and interesting markets in the city, Hohhot is also great for its proximity to the desert and the grasslands.

For part one of this video journey, experience the madness of the Beijing train station during Golden Week, visit a few of the temples in Hohhot, and see what the night life has to offer…

因为这是黄金周，所以火车站的人特别多. – Yīn wèi zhè shì huáng jīn zhōu, suǒ yǐ huǒ chē zhàn de rén tè bié duō
Since it is Golden Week, there are so many people in the train station.

呼和浩特是内蒙古的省会 – Hū hé hào tè shì nèi méng gǔ de shěng huì
Hohhot is the capital of Inner Mongolia.

五塔寺 – Wǔ Tǎ Sì
Five Pagoda Temple

大召寺 – dà zhào sì
Da Zhao Temple

西藏僧侣 – Xī zàng sēng lǚ
Tibetan monk

他在施工 – Tā zài shī gōng
He is doing construction.

他在看手机 – Tā zài kàn shǒu jī
He is looking at his cell phone.

他在睡觉 – Tā zài shuì jiào
He is sleeping.

他在念经 – Tā zài niàn jīng
He is reciting scriptures.

清真大寺 – Qīng zhēn dà sì
Great Mosque

蒙古建筑 – Méng gǔ jiàn zhú
Mongolian architecture

成吉思汗 – Chéng jí sī hán
Genghis Khan

他们都在卖大葱 – Tā men dōu zài mài dà cōng
They are all selling green onions.

延吉狗肉王 – Yán jí gǒu ròu wáng
Yan Ji Dog Meat King

宇航员 – yǔ háng yuán
astronaut

小村庄 – xiǎo cūn zhuāng
small village

学校 – xué xiào
school

勤奋学习 – qín fèn xué xí
study diligently

教堂 – jiào táng
church

墓地 – mù dì
graveyard

风景不太好，因为污染很严重 – Fēng jǐng bù tài hǎo, yīn wèi wū rǎn hěn yán zhòng
The scenery is not great, because the pollution is…?

她好像不太高兴。 – Tā hǎo xiàng bù tài gāo xìng.
She doesn’t look very happy.

她有点儿害怕 – Tā yǒu diǎn er hài pà
She is a little scared.

真好吃!  – Zhēn hào chī!
So delicious!

蒙古火锅 – Méng gǔ huǒ guō
Mongolian hotpot

这里的夜生活，除了KTV就是音乐酒吧 – Zhè lǐ de yè shēng huó, chú le KTV jiù shì yīn yuè jiǔ bā
The nightlife here, other than karaoke bars, is just a music bar.

内蒙古的乐器叫马头琴 – Nèi méng gǔ de yuè qì – jiào “mǎ tóu qín”
Inner Mongolian instrument called “ma tou qin.”

Keep an eye on the blog for Part Two, which will include my three-day trip out to the desert and the grasslands of Inner Mongolia!