[Photo by Matt Hodges/chinadaily.com.cn]

Here, ancient mosques, centuries-old Buddhist temples and iced-lamb hot pot jostle for your attention. The people are friendly. The sky is blue.

Even the most jaded of temple tourists will be impressed by 400-year-old Da Zhao Si, with its 10-foot Sakyamuni Buddha statue made of silver, twin dragon totems and a newly installed 1,000-hands Buddha.

The latter became in vogue due to a popular dance performed by deaf and mute women during the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

I visited the temple on some kind of equinox festival and was treated to grotesque masked dances, a giant hanging thangka, and celebrity lamas. In other words, it rocked, Tibetan-style.

From Hohhot to Baotou the temptations multiply, so consider setting aside a good week.

With 18 million passenger cars sold last year, China has leapfrogged the US as the world’s biggest car market. Increasingly, SUV-owning city slickers are hitting the open road to enjoy long stretches of tarmac unbedeviled by red lights, tailbacks and toxic fumes. It’s all the rage, and it sure beats road rage.

"A lot of people make road trips here at this time of year, even from as far as Sichuan and Guangdong,"says Steven Zhang, General Manager of the Shangri-La Baotou.