Yakeshi

Introduction

Yakeshi is a county-level city within Hulunbuir, in Inner Mongolia, China. It sits in the far north of the country, in a region administered from Hulunbuir, so you can treat it as one stop within a wider Inner Mongolian journey rather than a destination on its own.

Before you go

Yakeshi sits beside the Hailar River on the north side of the Greater Khingan Range, roughly 70 km east of Hailar. The surrounding towns are folded into the city's administrative area, so the settled population is spread out rather than concentrated in one urban core — plan for a place that feels more like a string of communities than a single dense city.

The name has a layered history: the area was originally called Xuguit Qi, from a Mongolian word for the locality, and it became Yakeshi in 1983 when it was designated a county-level city. Knowing this helps you read local signs and references, which may use either name.

Getting there

Yakeshi is reached by rail: lines run south and east to Harbin and Beijing, and north and west to Hailar and on to Manzhouli, where you can connect onward into Russia. The journey to Harbin or Beijing is a long one, so plan for the better part of a day and a night on the train.

The nearest airport is in Hailar, which has flights from Beijing and Hohhot. From Hailar, the roughly 70 km transfer to Yakeshi takes about an hour by taxi.

Getting around

Yakeshi's compact centre is easy to cover on foot, so if you are staying centrally and your business is in the middle of town, you can reasonably get around without a vehicle. For anything beyond the core — outlying districts, the surrounding farmland, or the wider territory — walking stops being practical and you will want a taxi or a bus.

Public buses exist but are few, so treat them as a bonus rather than a plan: use one if a route happens to run where you are going, and otherwise fall back on taxis. Taxis are plentiful and the most reliable way for a visitor to get around, with short trips within the city inexpensive; because they are abundant, you can generally flag one down rather than booking ahead. For longer journeys, including the run out to Hailar and its airport, agree on the fare or confirm the meter before setting off. Yakeshi has no airport of its own — the nearest is in Hailar, roughly 70 kilometres away, and a taxi is the straightforward way to cover that drive. The city also sits on the Harbin–Manzhouli Railway, with services to Harbin and Beijing to the south and east and to Hailar and Manzhouli to the north and west, the last with onward connections toward Russia; if you are arriving or leaving by rail, build in time for the station and confirm schedules locally, as timings vary.

Where to stay

Most of the accommodation in Yakeshi clusters around the railway station and the streets immediately north of it, so you can walk to your room from the platform. The Longhua Hotel sits in the centre of town, four streets north of the station and then left; it is a two-star place with well-equipped rooms and free internet, plus a restaurant, game rooms, spa and massage, though there are no non-smoking rooms. Several other options line the same area: the Songxue Hotel is directly opposite the railway station on Yingbin East Street, the Lincheng Hotel is just west of the station on Yingbin West Road, and the 9 Home Yakeshi Zhanqian is on Yingbin West Street.

If you would rather stay away from the station, the Yakeshi Hotel on Kangle West Street is a guesthouse built in the early days of the People's Republic in neoclassical style, once used to host visiting dignitaries. The Jianxing Hotel on Shengli West Street and the Jiujin Express Hotel on Lincheng North Road round out the choices.

Food & drink

Yakeshi's food scene centres on barbecue, and the place to find it is along Shengli West Street around Jianxing Hotel, where dozens of barbecue restaurants cluster together through the evening. The speciality is skewers of local mutton and beef, grilled and served in plentiful portions; the more adventurous can also try sheep eyes, bull balls and other delights of the kind.

To cut the greasiness afterwards, finish with ice cream topped with fresh hawthorn.

What to see and do

Three days in Yakeshi

Day one: Start in Yakeshi itself, a city in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, within China. Get your bearings along the Hailar River, which runs through this part of the Greater Khingan Range, and use the town as your base for the days ahead. Public taxis make it easy to move between the streets, and you can settle into a hotel on Yingbin East Street, Yingbin West Road or Yingbin West Street, such as the Longhua Hotel, Songxue Hotel, Lincheng Hotel or Yakeshi Hotel. In the evening, eat near Kangle West Street or Shengli West Street, where the Jianxing Hotel and Jiujin Express Hotel sit.

• Hailar River
• Greater Khingan Range
• Yingbin East Street, Yingbin West Road, Yingbin West Street
• Kangle West Street, Shengli West Street

Day two: Head out from Yakeshi toward Hailar, the hub of Hulunbuir, and use it as a springboard for the wider region. From Hailar you can reach Xuguit Qi and the Mongolian grasslands of Inner Mongolia, and the Manzhouli Railway links the area onward toward Manzhouli and Russia. If you prefer to stay closer, return to Yakeshi in the evening and rest at the Home Yakeshi Zhanqian or the Jiujin Express Hotel.

• Hailar
• Xuguit Qi
• Manzhouli Railway
• Manzhouli and Russia

Day three: Spend your last day in Yakeshi, knowing that Harbin, Beijing and Hohhot are the onward connections most travellers use when leaving Inner Mongolia. Take a final walk along the Hailar River and through the streets around Yingbin West Road, then pick up supplies near your hotel before departure. Several hotels along Yingbin East Street and Shengli West Street make a convenient last stop.

• Harbin, Beijing, Hohhot
• Hailar River
• Yingbin West Road