Grassland · Hebei
Bashang Grassland
坝上草原
The edge of the Mongolian steppe, a few hours north of Beijing
Bashang is the band of high grassland along the southern rim of the Inner Mongolian Plateau in northern Hebei, stretching across Zhangjiakou and Chengde prefectures. Lying above a steep escarpment at around 1,300 to 1,600 metres, it is the closest steppe landscape to Beijing, known for summer meadows, lakes and the scenic Grassland Sky Road.
Key facts
- Elevation
- about 1,300–1,600 m
- Prefectures
- Zhangjiakou and Chengde, Hebei
- Landform
- Southern rim of the Inner Mongolian Plateau
Overview
“Ba” in northern Hebei means the abrupt step where the plateau ends; “bashang” is everything above it. Climbing from the valleys of Zhangjiakou or Chengde, the road rises through ravines and suddenly comes out onto rolling, treeless or lightly wooded land, cooler and windier than the plain below. The counties of Zhangbei, Kangbao, Guyuan, Shangyi, Fengning and Weichang all lie wholly or partly on the plateau.
For Beijing, Bashang is summer country: meadows full of flowers, horse riding, lakes and farm stays within a day's drive. It is also farmland and pasture, a zone of wind farms, and a frontier between farming China and the nomadic world that has shifted back and forth for two thousand years.
How the landscape formed
The plateau edge is a fault escarpment where the Inner Mongolian Plateau stands several hundred metres above the Yan Mountains and the basins of the Sanggan River. On top, a gently rolling surface of volcanic basalt and older rocks is covered with loess and wind-blown sand. Shallow lakes (淖尔, nào'ěr, from Mongolian nuur) fill closed hollows. Rivers such as the Shandian — the upper Luan — rise here and flow south through gaps in the escarpment.
Highlights
Grassland Sky Road
草原天路
A road following the crest of the escarpment in Zhangbei and Chongli, with views down to the valleys and across the plateau.
Fengning Bashang
丰宁坝上
The grasslands of Fengning County around Datan, the closest part of the plateau to Beijing.
Shandian River
闪电河
The meandering upper course of the Luan River across the Guyuan grassland.
Yuan Zhongdu ruins
元中都遗址
Remains of a short-lived Yuan dynasty capital founded in 1307 near Zhangbei.
Anguli Nur
安固里淖
A shallow plateau lake in Zhangbei, variable in size with the rains.
Plants and wildlife
Bashang is meadow steppe and typical steppe, with birch and aspen woods in sheltered places and planted shelter belts. Overgrazing and ploughing turned much of it to sandy land in the twentieth century; the grasslands are now protected as a barrier against dust reaching Beijing.
Plants
Globeflower
金莲花
Trollius chinensis, the symbol of the summer meadows; its dried flowers are used as tea.
Feather grass
针茅
Stipa species, the dominant grasses of the drier steppe.
White birch
白桦
Grows in groves on north-facing slopes and valley floors.
Wildlife
Mongolian lark
百灵
The songbird of the steppe, prized by bird-keepers in Beijing.
Great bustard
大鸨
A large, rare grassland bird that winters and passes through northern Hebei.
Culture and legend
The escarpment was for centuries a frontier between agricultural and pastoral peoples. The Liao and Jin emperors held seasonal camps on the plateau; the Yuan built Zhongdu near Zhangbei and ruled from Shangdu just beyond, in today's Inner Mongolia. Under the Qing the northern parts of Chengde prefecture became imperial hunting ground. Han settlers ploughed much of the grassland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and today's villages mix farming, herding and summer tourism.
Mulan Paddock
木兰围场
The Qing imperial hunting ground in Weichang, on the eastern Bashang.
Dajingmen, Zhangjiakou
张家口大境门
The Great Wall gate below the plateau through which the tea-and-horse trade road to Mongolia passed.
History
Liao and Jin dynasties (916–1234)
Imperial seasonal camps on the plateau
The steppe rulers of north China use the cool highland in summer.
1307
Yuan Zhongdu founded
A new capital rises near Zhangbei, abandoned within a few years.
1681
Mulan Paddock established
The eastern Bashang becomes Qing imperial hunting ground.
20th century
Ploughing and desertification
Farming and overgrazing expose the sandy soils; shelter belts and grazing controls follow.
Through the seasons
Spring
Late, cold and windy; the grass turns green only in May.
Summer
The season for Bashang: cool days, flowering meadows from late June and frequent thunderstorms.
Autumn
Golden grassland and birches in September; the first frosts arrive early.
Winter
Long and bitterly cold, with snow and strong winds; ski areas lie at Chongli on the southern edge.
Routes and ways in
Grassland Sky Road
Driven or cycled along the escarpment from Zhangjiakou towards Chongli, with frequent stops at viewpoints.
Fengning and Weichang circuit
A road loop through the eastern Bashang can be combined with Saihanba.
Practical notes
- The western Bashang is reached via Zhangjiakou, the eastern via Chengde; much of it is a long day's drive from Beijing.
- At 1,300–1,600 metres the air is cool even in July; sudden storms and strong sun are both common.
- Grasslands are pasture and farmland: keep to tracks and ask before crossing fenced land.
Cities to start from
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Hebei Provincial People's Government — Hebei Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Zhangjiakou Municipal People's Government — Zhangjiakou Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Chengde Municipal People's Government — Chengde Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
More mountains and nature in Hebei
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