China-Mongolia e-commerce, tourism creates buzz in tiny Gobi Desert town

Driven by steady demand for cashmere, bags, shoes and even camel wool, trade between China and Mongolia is flourishing via a bustling border town against a strong backdrop of e-commerce orders.

Along with Mongolia’s strategy of diversifying its economy to boost growth after the coronavirus pandemic, the landlocked country is also enjoying a boost in tourism from its neighbour.

According to the information office of the regional committee in China’s northern Inner Mongolia autonomous region, trips in both directions along its Erenhot highway and via its railway ports had risen by 95 per cent year on year to 1.75 million this year until September 5.

The same entry ports saw 442,000 vehicles pass through during the same period, double the volume from the same period of 2023.

Erenhot is a county-level city located in the Gobi Desert along China’s vast border with Mongolia, and it has particularly thrived since April after a 24-hour border crossing for freight was opened on a trial basis amid efforts to ease truck congestion at its port, which is the largest land link on the China-Mongolia border.