Hohhot, China

Hohhot (Chinese: 呼和浩特; pinyin: Hūhéhàotè), occasionally spelled Huhehot, is the capital city of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.

• Population: 683,200 (1994)
• Area: __ km²
• Abbreviation: Hu City (呼市 Hu-shi)
• GDP per capita: ¥11789 (ca. US$1420) in 2003, ranked no. 201 among 659 Chinese cities.

The name "Hohhot" is Mongolian for "blue city".

History

Hohhot was founded by Altan Khan around 1580. Until 1954, Hohhot was referred to by the chinese as Guisui (歸綏 Guīsuī), or Kweisui, which is the acronym of the two districts of the city:

• Guihua (歸化): Southeastern old section, business district, established as a town in the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty
• Suiyuan (綏遠): Northeastern "New Town", government district. Established in the 17th century by the Manchus.

The two sections later became Guihua District (歸化縣) of the Qing Empire, renamed to Guisui County (歸綏縣) in 1913, and upgraded to a city in 1950.

It was the capital of the defunct Suiyuan Province.

Geography

Located in the southern central part of Inner Mongolia.

Administration

9 county-level banners (旗县区), 2 street offices (街道办事处), 96 townships (乡镇).

Demographics

11% Mongols, rest is mostly Han, with Korean, Hui, and other minorities.

Culture

Inner Mongolian University is in Hohhot.

Artifacts

There are over 50 sets of murals in southeastern Hohhot, including a "Horse-tending Image" (牧 馬 圖). Over 50 pre-modern Buddhist temples and towers.

Cemetery of Zhaojun dates back to the Han Dynasty.