The Xi family was exceptionally close to Ulanhu and his family. In the 1950s, they were neighbors and became so close that, in 1961, Ulanhu invited Xi Jinping's parents to Hohhot to celebrate the Chinese New Year. https://twitter.com/stuartlauscmp/status/1301477366296911873

When during the Great Leap Forward Ulanhu came under attack, Xi Zhongxun visited Inner Mongolia and then praised the work conducted there to Zhou Enlai. Xi and Ulanhu also worked together in 1962 during a brief attempt to rectify leftist mistakes toward ethnic minorities.

Qi Qiaoqiao, the sister of Xi Jinping, and Yun Shubi, Ulanhu’s daughter, studied together and also became close friends. During the Cultural Revolution, Qi lived under terrible conditions in Inner Mongolia and became very sick. Yun arranged for Qi to be transferred.

In the 1980s, Xi Zhongxun and Ulanhu were again neighbors and often shared delicacies from Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia. Xi even called Ulanhu “your highness [王爷].” In 1987, the two visited Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region to mark the its 40th anniversary.

Xi Zhongxun saw Ulanhu as a useful bridge, but the friendship appears to be have been real. And Xi once said to reps of Dalai Lama that Mongolians suffered the most during the Cultural Revolution. But XZX also participated in a crackdown on Mongolian protesters in 1981.

In the first picture, that's Xi Zhongxun on the far right standing next to Ulanhu. In the second picture, that's the Tenth Panchen Lama, XZX, and Ulanhu. The third picture is XZX and Ulanhu in 1987 in Inner Mongolia. Fourth picture is XZX, Ulanhu, and Ulanhu's son.