Giving up on Xinjiang, taking the kids to 22℃ Ulan Butong for summer vacation

Last summer, I planned to take the kids to Xinjiang, but a one-way ticket cost over 2,000 yuan, so I had to give up. By chance, I discovered Ulan Butong, which has vast grasslands and unique deserts with breathtaking scenery🌿. The average summer temperature is only 22℃, and the daily travel distance is not as far as going to Xinjiang, making it very kid-friendly! Even better, the transportation is extremely convenient‼️ You can use Beijing as a hub and take high-speed trains🚄 from all over the country, with tickets costing just over 300 yuan. You can also take the kids to explore Beijing, visiting the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the National Museum, and more—truly a win-win! This year, I plan to take the kids here again to escape the heat. 👣 Itinerary Sharing DAY 1 Beijing—Chifeng, Inner Mongolia We first took the high-speed train to Beijing, took the kids to see Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City to feel the weight and solemnity of history, then transferred to a high-speed train to Chifeng. • Beijing cuisine: Peking duck, zhajiang noodles, lu zhu, hot pot, each with distinctive flavors. • Chifeng cuisine: Chifeng dui jia, milk chew, milk skin, yogurt pancakes, full of local flavor. DAY 2 Chifeng Museum—Bolong Desert • Morning: Took the kids to the museum to learn about Chifeng and Hongshan culture, enriching their knowledge. • Afternoon: Experienced desert off-roading, sand sliding, and fun activities like desert water collection💦 and navigation. Stayed overnight at a desert container hot spring hotel, soaking in the hot springs while watching the sunset🌅—extremely relaxing. DAY 3 Ulan Butong—Grassland Sports Festival The endless grasslands of Ulan Butong are simply stunning! Wildflowers🌸 everywhere, herds of cattle, sheep, horses, and cute marmots. My kids and I rode horses, flew kites, played tug-of-war, and soccer⚽ on the vast grassland, and got to know many little insects—we didn’t want to leave. At dusk, we enjoyed barbecue🍗 while watching the sunset on the grassland, feeling very relaxed. DAY 4 Ulan Butong—Agate Mountain—Hangai Pasture Took an off-road vehicle across the grassland to Agate Mountain to collect agates, with picturesque scenery all along the way. At Hangai Pasture, we tasted Mongolian-style afternoon tea, tried archery, swinging, and building a yurt, and were lucky to see a beautiful rainbow🌈. • In the evening, there was a nomadic music concert featuring horsehead fiddle, throat singing, long songs, and Mongolian girls dancing gracefully. • Then a bonfire party🔥 where everyone sang, danced, and set off fireworks around the fire, lively and festive. • Afterwards, we watched the starry Milky Way🌌, and a science teacher taught the kids how to identify constellations. DAY 5 Zhenglan Banner—Fengning Bashang Grassland Here you can experience collecting cow dung, brewing milk tea☕, making intangible cultural heritage cow dung incense, as well as grass sliding and grass stamping. Kids can earn a nomadic youth medal🏅. Learn Mongolian wrestling🤼 from champion Bokh wrestlers. At night, stayed at the Xionglu luxury tent camp and enjoyed a whole roasted lamb feast with tender and juicy lamb. DAY 6 Fengning Bashang Grassland—Send-off and Return Woke up early to the bleating of sheep, feeling refreshed by the cool breeze with no morning grumpiness. The kids and I played grass sliding and swinging, enjoying the entire grassland alone—extremely pleasant. Ulan Butong is very large, and many areas on the grassland have no signal, so self-driving is not recommended.