Mengcao Grass Expo Garden

A national AAA-level tourist attraction, Mengcao Grass Expo Garden is situated in the New Horinger District of Inner Mongolia. It borders Jinsheng Road to the north, which leads straight to downtown Hohhot, links Horinger County to the south, and stands adjacent to National Highway 209 on the west, boasting highly convenient transportation. It is an integrated leisure and tourism complex that combines ecotourism, popular science education about grassland flora, and parent-child interactive education.

Guided by the tenet of ecological restoration, this green ecological sightseeing park integrates scientific research, plant cultivation and recreational tourism, organically unifying Mengcao’s R&D, production, sales and sightseeing experiences. Covering a total area of 2,794 mu on a grand scale, the scenic area includes multiple highlights such as the Grassland Native Plant Museum, Youth Plant Ecology Popular Science Zone, Wildflower Valley, Drought-Resistant Plant Research Institute and Seed Processing Center. The garden presents distinct scenery all year round and blooms across three seasons. Its diverse tourist programs and scenic spots cater to visitors of all groups in every season, receiving more than 56,000 tourists annually and greatly boosting the local tourism economy.

Stepping into the park, visitors are surrounded by lush greenery, where plants of various species from diverse regions bloom in full splendour. Through creative landscape design, botanical displays and multimedia interactive installations, more than 160 varieties of native Mengcao plants are vividly exhibited. Artistic plant arrangements allow visitors to observe the diverse forms and unique charm of native grasses, illustrating the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.

As a core component of the expo garden, the museum integrates industrial tourism, grassland botany popular science and parent-child educational activities. It showcases native grasses via diverse creative displays, enabling visitors to appreciate the allure of plants, recognize the value of ecosystems and savour the beauty of harmony between humans and nature during leisure time. It is an ideal ecotourism destination on the outskirts of Hohhot for visitors to get close to nature and unwind.

The R&D Center has collected over 160 stress-resistant native plant species. Leveraging modern biotechnologies including wild domestication, cultivation and breeding, these plants have been moved out of laboratories and seedling nurseries for large-scale market application, widely used in desert control, saline-alkali land improvement, mine land reclamation and grassland restoration.

The center has established five specialized research institutes: the Drought-Resistant Plant Research Institute, Grassland Ecosystem Research Institute, Wuyuan Saline-Alkali Land Improvement Research Institute, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Native Flora Research Institute, and Hulunbuir Cold-Resistant Plant Research Institute.

The Drought-Resistant Plant Research Institute is located in Bayiantu Village, Horinger County, Hohhot. It serves as a high-quality drought-resistant seed breeding base integrating scientific research, pilot testing and mass production, demonstrating the cultivation and practical application of native plants in arid and semi-arid northern regions. Tourists can not only admire the beauty of balanced ecosystems here, but also learn about the miraculous growth and reproduction of native vegetation.

The scenic area is endowed with abundant natural tourism resources. The surrounding diversified terrain consisting of mountains, hills and river valleys creates favourable conditions for agriculture and animal husbandry. Built on formerly barren wasteland, the park is hailed as a "green oxygen bar". While touring and relaxing, visitors are refreshed by the vibrant green vistas and fresh air, soothing both body and mind. The rich plant resources within the park play an indispensable role in air purification, water filtration, noise reduction and soil improvement.

Mengcao Grass Expo Garden allows tourists and local residents to escape urban hustle and bustle and embrace the tranquility and simplicity of rural wilderness, experiencing the unique beauty of primitive ecosystems, while raising public awareness of ecological and environmental protection.