A wild weekend in Inner Mongolia

Escaping the city on weekends is part of Beijing life. If you are tired of mountains, hot springs and historic sites, why not head a little further north to Inner Mongolia, where you can enjoy a travel experience not found in other Chinese provinces.

Inner Mongolia is suitable for travel in all four seasons. In summer, you head there to escape the hot weather and enjoy a windy night on the grasslands under a tapestry of shining stars. In the autumn, the leaves turn red and yellow and you can see the region's may "painted" forests. For more adventurous travelers, head there in winter to see snow-covered sand dunes and experience cold da with temperatures always 20 degrees Centigrade below zero. And if you're crazy, go in spring and lean what a real sandstorm is.

All jokes aside, the best seasons to visit are early spring and autumn, especially if bound for the desert, because summer is too hot and winter is too cold.

If your dream is a crazy weekend, far from Beijing, with lots of opportunities for cool photos and a low price-tag, Beijing Today's route to the Resonant Sand Gorge (Xiangshawan), a desert of echoing sands in Inner Mongolia, could be one ofyour best choices.