Here are some resorts with vast areas of grassland north of Beijing.

Kangxi Grassland

This is the nearest so-called grassland in Beijing's Yanqing County.

About 70 kilometres north of downtown, the place was a hunting spot for emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The natural grassland area has been reduced to 3,900 hectares.

Surrounded by Haitou Mountain in the north and Guanting Lake in the west, the temperature here is usually cooler than downtown Beijing.

Hundreds of Yili horses from Xinjiang are raised here for tourists to ride on the green land. Fishing, outdoor barbecue and dancing attract many visitors in summer.

To get there, take bus No 919 or drive along Badaling Highway to Badaling and then head west following signs. It takes just one hour from Beijing.

Cost: 20 yuan (US$2.4) for the entrance ticket. If you drive yourself, it costs an extra 10 yuan (US$1.2) at the highway toll gate.

Bashang Grassland

If you go 120 kilometres northwest of Kangxi Grassland, you will find the larger Bashang Grassland,another hunting place for Qing imperial families.

The best travel time here is in summer, when the land is covered by colourful wild flowers, with white clouds floating across the sky.

Mongolian yurts are offered as accommodation for tourists. You can share the life of local Mongolian families here. You can also take your own tent to the grassland.

Public transportation is not so viable here. Driving is the ideal way. You can take train route K23 at Beijing Railway Station at 7:40 to Zhangjiakou and then change bus to the grassland. Train routes K117 (15:56) and K217 (17:06) at Beijing West Railway Station also go to Zhangjiakou. All the routes take three hours. The cost for train between Beijing and Zhangjiakou ranges from 60 yuan (US$7.2) to 120 yuan (US$15). It depends what train you take.

Hulunbuir Grassland

To find the really endless grass land area, you need to travel further north to the Hulunbuir Grassland in Inner Mongolia.

The grasslands there are known locally as the purest on earth because of the lack of pollution and the uninterrupted green that, in summer, stretches in all directions.

Hulunbuir is fed by hundreds of rivers, large and small, that have made this area highly popular with Mongolian nomads and herders.

Visitors there can try many activities, including horse and camel riding, Mongolian wrestling, dancing, and feeding on the mutton at a traditional banquet.

To finish it all off it is best to spend the night here, in the yurts, that although a little too tourist-oriented, will give you a taste of the lifestyles of the nomads and the marauding Mongols of old times.

How to get there: Except for Monday, there are daily flights between Beijing and Hailar, that take about two hours. The ticket price is about 1,100 yuan (US$132). It takes several hours by bus to get to the grassland (10 yuan/US$1.2 for bus fee).

By train: Binzhou Railway line traverses Hailar city, linking it with Beijing. Train No 1301 departs Beijing at 9:52 am every day and arrives at Hailar about 30 hours later at around 15:27 the following day. Cost ranges from 300 yuan (US$36) to 450 yuan (US$54).

Other grasslands in Inner Mongolia: Xilamuren, Gegentala, Huitengxile

About 100 kilometres from Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia, you will find other sites. You can enjoy trekking off on your own into the rolling grasses for scenery that is pretty and remote.

Although it is possible to visit one of the grassland areas in one day, it is far nicer to spend a night or two out here in a Mongolian traditional yurt.

There is plenty of entertainment to enjoy.

Xilamuren: 80 kilometres northwest of Hohhot; Gegentala: 170 kilometres northeast of Hohhot and Huitengxile 120 kilometres west of Hohhot.

How to get there: First get to Hohhot and then change buses to different destinations. Train K89 starts at Beijing West Railway Station at 20:40 and arrives at Hohhot 7:20 the next morning. It takes 11 hours. The cost is about 300 yuan (US$36).

(Beijing Weekend July 13, 2002)