Contact Admin. Your favourite blogger was able to cross off another of his must-visit-while-in-China places this past weekend. Not for anything specific; just that it has always intrigued me in an odd kind of way.
Maybe the stories of Genghis Khan and his ilk sweeping across the plains of Asia in the 13th century had something to do with it. Although the majority of the population in the region is Han Chinese, there is a sizeable Mongol minority. Hailar is at the top of the red bit on the map, close to Russia. I get up well before the crack of dawn and head to the airport. Not a good beginning. I show him the booking sent to me over my iPhone and he relaxes.
Oh, you mean Hailar , he says. But I am used to check-in clerks not understanding my true-blue British accent, so I allow him to bask in his newly found superiority. The flight is good, albeit that it leaves precisely one hour late; but it makes up for some lost time on the way. Welcome to Hulunbuir the flight attendant mumbles into the microphone, as I quickly check to see where on earth I might have landed; and we are tipped out into a clear sunny day, where the temperature is already nudging 30 degrees.
Strange ladies in beautiful costumes are waiting for a couple of the passengers on my flight; but instead I am met by two of the crew and we head off into town.
It turns out that since , Hailar has served as the urban district of the newly created Hulunbuir city. Hailar also spelt Hailer or Hailaer is the main city of the region, located some km from the Russian border. The Qing Dynasty founded a garrison town along a crossing of the Hailar river in , to buffer their strength against growing Russian incursion into Manchurian territory. The modern city currently has a population of around ,, with a large contingent of ethnic minorities.
