Manduhai Khatun (1449–1510) was the ruling queen of the Mongols for over twenty years, a figure whose military and political achievements rival those of any of her male contemporaries. She is largely unknown outside Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, despite having reunified the scattered Mongolian tribes after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty, led multiple successful campaigns against the Oirats, and re-established Mongolian sovereignty over much of the steppe. The memorial park dedicated to her in Hohhot provides an introduction to her life and the historical context of late medieval Mongolian history.
The park contains a large equestrian statue, explanatory panels, and a small museum covering the period of Mongolian history from the fall of the Yuan dynasty through the consolidation of the Inner Mongolian Mongol tribes in the 16th century. For visitors who have encountered Wang Zhaojun (the Han dynasty beauty married to the Xiongnu) as Hohhot's most prominent historical woman, Manduhai's story provides a corrective — a woman who was powerful on her own terms rather than symbolically valuable to her husband's court.