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Voykit pocket guide · China
Gegentela
Skip unless you want a domestic-style grassland holiday park with horse riding and yurt stays. One night is enough; go from Hohhot as a day trip if you just want the grassland experience.
Gegentela is a grasslands destination in Inner Mongolia, north of Hohhot. It's a holiday park targeting domestic tourists, with horse riding, Mongolian shows, and yurt accommodation. The experience is basic and commercialised; most travellers use it for a single night or a day trip from Hohhot.
- Country
- China
- Best months
- Jun–Sep
- Avoid
- Nov–Mar (cold, grassland brown)
- Stay
- 1 night
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- CNY
- Money
- Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards; single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card (smaller ones are free), and per-payment and yearly caps apply — check the app. Keep a second way to pay.
- Daily spend
- Budget ¥200–400 excl. bed · Mid ¥400–700 excl. bed · High ¥700+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- A roaming eSIM from outside China routes traffic through its home network, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram work without a VPN — the simplest setup.
- Emergency
- Police 110 · Fire 119 · Ambulance 120
- Plugs
- Types A, C, I · 220 V · 50 Hz · Many sockets take flat two-pin (A), round two-pin (C) and angled three-pin (I) plugs; UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurants: No tip; upmarket hotels add 10–15% service.; Taxis and DiDi: No tip.; Tour guides and drivers: Expected on organised tours: about ¥100–200 a day for a guide, ¥50–100 for a driver.; Hotel porters: Not expected; ¥10–20 in luxury hotels.
- Water
- Not for drinking from the tap; bottled water ¥2–5, and kettles and free bottles in hotel rooms. Restaurants serve hot water or tea.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are frequent and free; squat toilets outside hotels and malls. Carry tissues — many have no paper.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Bus Hohhot → Wulanhua | ¥30 |
| Minibus Wulanhua → Gegentela | ¥10 per person |
| Taxi Wulanhua → Gegentela | ¥60 |
| Mongolian martial art show (25 min) | ¥20 per person |
| Singing and dancing performance (1 h) | ¥30 per person |
| Yurt, family (traditional, no shower) | ¥80 per night |
| Yurt, park basic (traditional, no shower) | ¥380 per night |
| Yurt, park mid (concrete, shower) | ¥600 per night |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- HET · Hohhot Baita International Airport
- About 2 h by bus and minibus to Gegentela
Typical fares
- Hohhot → Wulanhua, bus
- ¥30, about 2 h (check)
- Wulanhua → Gegentela, minibus
- ¥10 per person, about 30 min (check)
- Wulanhua → Gegentela, taxi
- ¥60, about 30 min (check)
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
Walk within the park. Minibus or taxi from Wulanhua to Gegentela (30 min).
See and do
Known for
- Grassland scenery
- Horse riding
- Mongolian martial art shows
- Yurt stays
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Hohhot | Minibus to Wulanhua (30 min), then bus to Hohhot (2 h) | About 2.5 h |
| Xilamuren | Bus or taxi from Hohhot, about 2 h | About 2.5 h |
Sleep
- Gegentela holiday park
- Three classes of yurt: concrete with shower (¥600–700/night), traditional fabric without shower (¥380/night).
- Nearby family yurts
- Traditional fabric yurts from about ¥80/night, no shower. Visible from the main road between Wulanhua and Gegentela.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | 你好nǐ hǎo |
| Thank you | 谢谢xiè xiè |
| How much? | 多少钱？duō shǎo qián? |
| I don't understand | 我不懂wǒ bù dǒng |
| Where is the toilet? | 厕所在哪里？cè suǒ zài nǎ lǐ? |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
- Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
- Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
- Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
- Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
- Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
- Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
- Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4
Scams and watch-outs
- Food and accommodation are more expensive than in Wulanhua town.
- Cheapest yurts have no showers; shared toilets in a separate building.
- The experience is geared toward domestic tourists; English is limited.
Safe for tourists; watch for uneven ground around yurts and bring cash (card acceptance limited).
One and two days
No timed day plan for Gegentela yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Grassland scenery
- Horse riding
- Mongolian martial art shows
- Yurt stays
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Wikivoyage: Gegentela, revision 4988261 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=4988261
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Printed from Voykit (/gegentela). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.