Hulunbuir is not a town but a territory — an Inner Mongolian prefecture on the Russian and Mongolian borders larger than most European countries, named for two great lakes and wrapped around what many call the finest grassland on earth. Here the steppe rolls to the horizon under towers of cloud, the Argun River draws the border past Russian-flavored timber villages, and the forests of the Greater Khingan range fill the north. The season is short and the distances enormous: base yourself in Hailar, move slowly, and let the emptiness do its work.
