Heteng Grassland

Heteng Grassland

Heteng Grassland, known in Mongolian as "cold mountain ridge," is located 35–50 kilometers south of the city. It is one of the nine famous scenic spots in Xilinhot City and one of the core areas of the five national grassland reserves. Its full name is part of the Bayan Ula Heteng Meadow Grassland Core Area, also referred to as the Heteng Xile Natural Botanical Garden.

This is a typical meadow grassland, rich in forage plants. In summer and autumn, the wild grass grows thick and lush, with various wildflowers blooming in vibrant competition. The sounds of insects are pleasant, and the air is fresh. The environment is naturally pristine, completely unpolluted—truly an idyllic retreat away from the city. It is one of the best tourist destinations in the Xilin Grassland, where green grass, blue skies, and white clouds form a beautiful natural painting.

The area boasts abundant natural wild plant resources, including medicinal herbs such as daylily, saposhnikovia, skullcap, anemarrhena, northern bupleurum, and adenophora. During the peak of summer, many tourists from across the country visit here to escape the heat and enjoy the vast grassland environment described as "the sky is vast, the wilderness boundless."

The area is rich in wild mushrooms and daylilies. There’s even a legend about the magical mushroom rings: it is said that on summer nights when the moon shines brightly, groups of fairies carrying white umbrellas would descend from the heavens to this beautiful earthly grassland. They would play and dance on the lush green meadows before returning to the heavens at dawn. The next day, white mushrooms would grow in the grass, symbolizing the graceful figures of the fairies.

Heteng Grassland is situated on the Heteng Basalt Plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 meters. Typical grassland, also called dry grassland or true grassland, forms the main part of the Xilingol Grassland. In the typical grassland plant community, drought-resistant tufted weeds dominate, represented by communities such as Stipa grandis, Stipa krylovii, Leymus chinensis, Cleistogenes squarrosa, Agropyron cristatum, Artemisia frigida, thyme, and Allium polyrhizum. In early spring, on the grassland where the color seems distant but disappears upon approach, the first to bloom are the small yellow flowers of Caragana microphylla, delicate and tender, bringing the first touch of warmth to the reviving grassland. In midsummer, the endless emerald grassland occasionally features bundles of lilac and purple blooms of Limonium bicolor (also called “dry branch plum”). In late autumn, on the golden grassland, the fruits of Stipa grandis and Stipa krylovii sprout fine white wisps, like strands of white gauze fluttering across the plains. In deep winter, the entire grassland is covered in snow, with all plants quietly awaiting the arrival of spring.

Heteng Grassland is located 55 kilometers along the Xilinhot-Zhangjiakou Highway, south of Xilinhot. It is one of the interfacial sightseeing spots between meadow grassland and typical grassland. The site lies on the Heteng Basalt Plateau at an altitude of about 1,300 meters.

In the typical grassland area, visitors can not only observe the landscape and vegetation of typical grasslands but also see exposed basalt formations on the ground, with volcanic tuff blocks formed by eruptions visible everywhere. A few hundred meters along the roadside, there is an underground lava corridor and multiple lava caves left by ancient volcanic activity, quietly waiting for adventurous explorers. The meadow grassland lies in the transitional zone from grassland to forest, representing a moisture-loving type within the grassland community. The natural landscape of the grassland in midsummer is exceptionally beautiful: the rich fragrance of flowers and grasses is refreshing and invigorating. Looking out, the dark green grassland undulates in waves, dotted with blooming flowers—pale purple delphiniums, fiery red alpine lilies, clusters of pink feather-like flowers, and patches of golden daylilies—all embellishing the vast grassland with extraordinary charm. Hence, the meadow grassland is also known as the “Garden of a Hundred Flowers.”

In the meadow grassland area, travelers can see lush grassland vegetation growing up to over 80 centimeters high, creating the sensation of standing amid rice, wheat, or millet fields. Upon closer inspection, one can find roughly over 20 different types of plants per square meter. Representative plants include the yellow-flowering Filifolium sibiricum of the Asteraceae family; various species of adenophora with orchid-like, funnel-shaped flowers; and Iris dichotoma with small purple blooms. There are also leguminous plants such as Hedysarum mongolicum and wild vetch. Here, if visitors are interested, they can pick a few favorite wildflowers to make plant specimens—but remember not to take too many, as these little flowers and grasses are living beings, close neighbors to humans. Among the many plants, visitors can identify commonly used medicinal herbs such as Bupleurum, a member of the Apiaceae family that produces small yellow flowers. When uprooted, it emits a strong aroma, and its roots are used medicinally. The well-known Bupleurum Injection is primarily made from the roots of this plant. The area also has many rare mushroom rings seldom seen by tourists, home to large quantities of wild mushrooms. Mushrooms are fungi with great edible value and considerable medicinal benefits.