Sleep Among 108 Volcanoes at Inner Mongolia’s Striking Desert Resort

Deep in the sprawling Baiyinkulun Steppe of Inner Mongolia, far from the urban comforts of China’s major cities, a new resort is taking shape. After months of construction, PLAT ASIA’s dazzling new Volcano-In Hotel of Arrivals is finally opening for business, with guests soon to be taken on an unexpected journey through one of the most remarkable landscapes on Earth. If you have ever dreamt of staying in a minefield of dormant volcanoes, this one might be for you.

PLAT ASIA Volcano-In Hotel of Arrivals

Set against an expansive grassland punctuated by a cluster of dormant volcanic cones, the newly completed Hotel of Arrivals forms part of the wider Baiyinkulun Steppe & Volcano Tourism Resort development. Designed to blend into the rugged landscape rather than dominate it, the eco-focused hotel is composed of a series of small, cone-shaped cabins dotted across the remote skyline. Each of the 45 guest suites offers a quirky take on contemporary travel, landing midway between a luxury apartment and a traditional Ger.

Designed by lead architect Bian Baoyang, the cabins were constructed using prefabricated components assembled on site. They feature a spherical façade clad in reddish metal panels, alongside an aluminium roof with curved retaining walls doubling as a protective barrier from the harsh winds.

Inside, guests will find a minimalist design that offers the essentials, however, the real prize here is the view. Each unit features a horizontal scroll window, a hanging scroll window and a dedicated oval skylight placed directly over the central bed. It’s a stunning way to view the night sky from a vantage point that few others have ever had access to. According to architect PLAT ASIA, the natural landscape ”unfolds in orderly layers within the window frames, offering contemplative views“.

With the Otindag Sandy Land to the south, Dali Lake to the east, the Yanshan Mountains and the Greater Khigan Range farther to the east and the Baiyinkulun Relict Gull Nature Reserve to the west, there are stunning views in literally all directions. Importantly, the new Volcano-In Hotel of Arrivals isn’t merely a tourism endeavour.

Sitting atop a volcanic site that has been subject to significant erosion for more than 150,000 years, the Baiyinkulun Steppe & Volcano Tourism Resort aims to blend hospitality with ecological practice. Each cabin has been strategically placed over two-metre-deep sand pits to prevent their expansion, while also replacing them with a new ecosystem and restoring the environment’s natural vitality. According to PLAT ASIA, strategies for combating further erosion also include a snow barrier wall to retain water and improve the viability of the soil.

“The Volcano-In Hotel of Arrivals aims to restore ecology and environment; its clustered layout responds to the volcanic site with low-impact principles,“ architect PLAT ASIA explained. “By engaging with geology, climate and meteorology, it invites people to experience the wilderness honestly and sensitively in every moment and scene, creating an immersive journey into the volcanic dream.“

Volcano-In Visitor Centre

The announcement of the PLAT ASIA volcano hotel comes just months after the Volcano-In Visitor Centre, was completed. The unique outpost is located within a C-shaped extinct volcano that erupted approximately 150,000 years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch of the Quaternary Period. It is one of 108 volcanoes in the region, which sits around 380 kilometres north of Tian’anmen Square.

The design team reportedly discovered the excavated area during a site survey in 2021, before being told by local herders that the “scar“ had existed for ten years. The decision to place the visitor centre in that exact location, PLAT ASIA explained, not only helped to preserve the volcano, but also encouraged the development of a new ecology.

As a design, the Volcano-In Hotel of Arrivals and its recently completed Volcano-In Visitor Centre offer an entirely unique approach to modern hospitality. The resort subverts the long-held notion that high-rise properties with seemingly endless amenities lists are the definition of true luxury, favouring a slower, more meaningful style of travel. Much like other eco-lodge resorts, such as the Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort or the soon-to-be-reopened Emirates Wolgan Valley, a Ritz Carlton Lodge, the property serves two masters; the environment and the guests. Wisely, it would seem, in that very order.

The Baiyinkulun Steppe & Volcano Tourism Resort is located in the Inner Mongolia region of China. The 1,634sqm property houses 45 free-standing guest suites, along with the Volcano-In Visitor Centre. An expansive grassland punctuated by dormant volcanic cones, the newly completed resort is one of China’s more enigmatic hospitality projects.

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