Welcome to Hohhot, capital of NeiMengGu, ancient center of Tibetan Buddhism, introduced to the masses by mongol rulers who constructed many of Hohhot's temples. The idea was to take buddhism beyond the mongol elite who had adopted it (ironically enough) as a way of cementing power by providing a religious justification to their rule to counter the traditional Chinese religious practices which supported the legitimacy of the previous imperial dynasty.
EAP China! Robert Klein.