The Hohhot National Backbone Cold Chain Logistics Base is to settle in Yili Future Intelligence and Health Valley – located in the city of Hohhot, capital of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – following an announcement by the National Development and Reform Commission.

When completed, the Yili Future Intelligence and Health Valley will be the only region in the country that has both a national commercial logistics hub and a national backbone cold chain logistics base.

The national backbone cold chain logistics base will have a total planned area of 3,206 mu (214 hectares) and the cold chain logistics-related facilities will cover an area of about 1,950 mu with a total investment of 3.8 billion yuan ($527 million). At present, facilities have been completed and have started operating in an area covering 908 mu.

Hohhot is said to be making every effort to develop itself as a modern regional transportation and logistics center.

The city is already an important node for the "four horizontal and four vertical" national cold chain logistics backbone channel network.

It plans to develop as a commercial and service-oriented national logistics hub, following its inclusion last year in the first batch of national logistics hubs in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), released by the National Development and Reform Commission.

Based on the foundation of its agricultural and animal husbandry industry in the autonomous region, Hohhot has created a regional cold chain logistics distribution and assembly center and an agricultural and livestock product base that serves the entire country.

As a result, eight major functions have been established – including industrial security, urban-rural integration, integrated services, regional distribution and trunk logistics.