Top Ten China Off-the-Beaten-Path Adventures

Head to a land untouched by the hand of modernization

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Hop on a horse and witness real Mongolian life—or what's left of it. Grab a train in Beijing and head to Hohot, the capital of remote Inner Mongolia. Then follow the Yellow River west to the grass steppe—largely untouched by the hand of modernization—where families still live in yerts. There you'll find a land that's never known a bad sunset, one that understands simple pleasures—like warm mare's milk in morning coffee.

A visit to the steppe is sweet in summer, especially during the Naidam festival when Mongols ride, wrestle, and shoot arrows, then sit down on the grass steppe for feasts with visitors.