There are daily bus services from Hohhot to Erlianhot and Xilinhot , but note that although station staff may sell you tickets to these destinations, you will not be allowed on to the bus if you look like a Westerner and do not have a travel permit. Either go to the PSB to apply for a permit, or, in the case of Erlianhot, you'd do better to catch the daily (slow) train at 6.40am. No permit is required if you travel by train.

To Baotou , there are buses running every thirty minutes; you can find them on the main street outside the station, attended by people with loud-hailers. There is also one daily (early morning) bus to Dongsheng for Genghis Khan's Mausoleum. In addition, sleeper buses leave Hohhot in the late afternoon, bound for Tianjin and Beijing , respectively - these buses work out far cheaper than the trains and it is also a lot easier to buy tickets.

Leaving Hohhot by train , you can seek the help of a travel agent (see "Listings"), where you'll pay a small commission and you'll need to give them at least 36 hours' notice for a hard sleeper - or try your luck at the station ticket office, which is sometimes hideously crowded and sometimes empty. Hohhot is linked by train to Lanzhou to the west, Beijing to the east and Hailar (a sixty-hour direct journey via Beijing) to the northeast. There are also trains to Ulan Batur in the Republic of Mongolia.