An aerial view of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia [Photo/Hohhot news network]

Steeped in history and culture, Hohhot, capital of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, has long been recognized as a national historical and cultural city and is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization.

To date, there are a total of 142 historical and cultural cities approved by the State Council (including Qiongshan district which was merged into Haikou in 2002).

The central urban area of Hohhot was originally formed by the merging of the cities of Guihua and Suiyuan, hence the name Guisui. In 1954, it was renamed Hohhot, which means "green city" in Mongolian.

The Five Pagoda Temple in Hohhot [Photo/Hohhot news network]