Tongliao

Tongliao lies in eastern Inner Mongolia at the heart of the Horqin grassland, a region with one of China's largest concentrations of ethnic Mongols. It is a center of Mongolian culture and language, famous for its horsemanship, the haunting khoomei throat-singing and the morin khuur horse-head fiddle. The Daqinggou nature reserve protects a striking green ravine of ancient forest cutting through the dry plains, while the surrounding grasslands and the Kulun Buddhist temples draw summer visitors. The area is also known for breeding fine horses and for its beef-and-dairy pastoral economy, alongside coal, aluminum and wind power. Tongliao has its own airport and rail links across the northeast to Shenyang and beyond.