Hohhot is the famous historical and cultural city of China, and is full of natural beauty and historical relics. The relics of "Dayao Culture" at eastern suburbs indicate human activities of 500000 years ago. In the Period of Warring States 2300 years ago, Zhaowuhou built the Ancient City. In Northern Wei period, Xianbei ethnic groups established capital at Horinger County now, the first capital in north grassland, named Shile in history and named Fengzhou in Liao period.

 

In Ming Dynasty, Tolmud Mongols had long been semi-agricultural Hohhot. In 1581, Tolmud leader Altan Khan constructed the city now in Yuquan District, named Hohhot in Mongolian meaning. And the Ming Dynasty changed the name as Guihua. In 1737, the Qing government built strong garrison town Suiyuan city at the northeast Guihua, then unite two cities as one named Guisui. In 1954, after approved by the State Council of China, the city became the capital of Inner Mongolia and resumed the name of Hohhot.

 

Buddhist Temples in Hohhot 

 

Dazhao Temple

Dazhao Temple, 'Wuliang Si (Infinite Temple)' in Chinese, is the oldest building and the largest temple in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Locally, people usually refer to it as the Silver Buddha Temple (Yinfo Si) for it is here that there is a rare silver statue of Sakyamuni that measures 2.5-meter-high (8.2-foot-high).

 

The construction of the temple was completed in 1580 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and it is therefore the oldest Lamaist Buddhist temple in Inner Mongolia. There was a major reconstruction in 1640 although much of the original architectural style was retained.

 

Dazhao Temple owns its fame to a visit by the third Tibetan Dalai Lama in 1586, when he came to dedicate the Silver Buddha statue. As a consequence Hohhot became a religious center for people from all over Mongolia who came to worship. Another notable event in the temple's long history was a visit by Emperor Kangxi during the early part of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

 

The temple is now a well-known tourist attraction because of the impressive buildings, splendid statues, delicate frescos, musical instruments and fine collection of Buddhist scriptures. Of its abundant religious relics perhaps the most notable are the "Three Marvelous Treasures", a title given to the Silver Buddha, the carved dragons on the huge golden pillars on either side of the statue and the murals commemorating the Emperor's visit.

 

Five-Pagoda Temple

Five-Pagoda Temple (Wuta Si), which is also called Jingangzuo Sheli Baota, is located in Hohhot City. As there are five small dagobas on the pedestal of the site, it is named Wuta Si. Wuta was originally a building of the temple constructed during 1727-1732. Now the temple has disappeared, but the pagoda has remained.

 

The pagoda is 16 meters high (about 51 feet) and it is composed of three parts: the base, the seat and the top (five dagobas). The lower part of the seat is inlaid with inscriptions of Diamond Sutra written in Mongolian, Tibetan and Sanskrit. The upper part is niches holding gold-plated statues of Buddha. The body of the pagoda is glazed in greens and yellows.

 

On the northern wall of the pagoda, three sculptures are inlaid. The Mongolian Astronomical Map is the only one labeled in Mongolian so far in the world and it is of great importance to scientific research.

 

Compared with other pagodas, Five-Pagoda Temple is unique in at least two aspects: its special structure, pagodas over pagoda, and the green and yellow colored glazes on the short eaves and tops of pagodas. Those make Five-Pagoda Temple quite special, a treasure of Hohhot City.

 

Note: The government of Hohhot City plans to restore the sites in Five-Pagoda Temple. The projected will be finished in July according to the schedule. 

 

Mosques (Masjid) in Hohhot 

 

The Great Mosque in Hohhot

The mosque was built during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD) after throngs of the Hui Muslim Minority migrated from Xinjiang to Mongolia. The architecture is such a beautiful clash of Chinese pagoda style roof with arabic style windows, inscriptions and the crescent moon & star on the minaret.

 

All constructed in black brick, the grandest is the aptly named Grand

Prayer Hall (Dajing tang shengdian), behind which lies both the Teaching Hall (Jiang tang) and the Muslim Baths (Musilin yushi). All of the buildings within bear Muslim characters, and especially noteworthy are the over 30 volumes of ancient Koran scriptures, all written in Arabic. It is also possible, with permission, to climb the

15m tall hexagonal minaret, that is topped with a pagoda style roof, for a nice view of the city.

 

Around the mosque run a series of small alleys (Hutong), that make up the Muslim area of town.

 

Address: situated to the north of the Xilituzhao Temple on Tongdao jie, by the moslem street which is noticeable from the moslem style architecture in the area.

 

Opening: 10:00-16:00, except during prayer hours and Friday