Field notes
The journal
What we've learned walking this city — written when there's something worth saying, not on a schedule.
Inner Mongolia3 min read
Badain Jaran — The Singing Dunes and Their Hundred Lakes
Dunes over 400 metres high, more than a hundred lakes between them, and sand that hums when it slides. Badain Jaran joined the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2024, and getting in still takes a hired 4WD and about 3,500 yuan.
Inner Mongolia3 min read
Into Inner Mongolia the Long Way — Wuzhong to Alxa Left Banner
Alxa Left Banner is 30 kilometres from Yinchuan in a straight line and a long detour by road, because the Helan mountains are in between. Everything worth stopping for is on that detour.
Inner Mongolia3 min read
Ujimqin — The Grassland That Hasn't Been Fenced
Xilingol's Ujimqin banners hold grassland that has escaped both ploughing and overgrazing. Come in July, stay in a herder's ger, and go to a Naadam.
Inner Mongolia2 min read
Enhe — A Russian Village in Inner Mongolia
Enhe is a Russian ethnic township in the far northeast: hand-built log houses, families of mixed Russian and Chinese descent, and a food culture of borscht and dark bread.
Inner Mongolia2 min read
Arxan — Alpine Architecture in a Volcanic Forest
Arxan is the least likely town in Inner Mongolia: European chalet architecture, mineral hot springs and a volcanic field, all in forest on the Mongolian border.