Baotou

Baotou ᠪᠤᠭᠤᠲᠤ 包头 Bugthot
Prefecture-level city
包头市
Deer Monument in Baotou
Baotou (red) in Inner Mongolia (orange)
Baotou Location of the city centre in Inner Mongolia
Coordinates: 40°39′N 109°50′E / 40.650°N 109.833°E / 40.650; 109.833Coordinates: 40°39′N 109°50′E / 40.650°N 109.833°E / 40.650; 109.833
Country	People's Republic of China
Region	Inner Mongolia
County-level divisions	10
Area
• Prefecture-level city	27,768 km2 (10,721 sq mi)
• Urban	271 km2 (105 sq mi)
• Metro	2,969 km2 (1,146 sq mi)
Elevation	1,065 m (3,494 ft)
Population (2010 census)
• Prefecture-level city	2,650,364
• Density	95/km2 (250/sq mi)
• Urban	1,720,099
• Urban density	6,300/km2 (16,000/sq mi)
• Metro	1,977,785
• Metro density	670/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
• Major nationalities	Han, Mongolian
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	014000
Area code(s)	472
License plate prefixes	蒙B
Local Dialect	Jin: Baotou dialect
Website	baotou.gov.cn

Baotou (Mongolian: ᠪᠤᠭᠤᠲᠤ ᠬᠣᠲᠠ Buɣutu qota; Chinese: 包头市) is the largest industrial city in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.^[1] Governed as a prefecture-level city, its urban areas are home to a population of approximately 1.78 million, with a total population of over 2.65 million accounting for counties under its jurisdiction. The city's Mongolian name means "place with deer", and an alternate name is "Lucheng" (鹿城; Lùchéng), meaning "Deer City".

Administrative divisions

Baotou is divided into 10 county-level divisions, including 7 districts,1 county and 2 banners.

Map	#	Name	Mongolian	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010 Census[2])	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
	1	Hondlon District	ᠬᠥᠨᠳᠡᠯᠡᠨ ᠲᠣᠭᠣᠷᠢᠭ (Köndelen toɣoriɣ)	昆都仑区	Kūndūlún Qū	726,838	301	6,108
	2	Donghe District	ᠳᠦᠩᠾᠧ ᠲᠣᠭᠣᠷᠢᠭ (Düŋhė toɣoriɣ)	东河区	Dōnghé Qū	512,045	423	6,024
	3	Qingshan District	ᠴᠢᠩᠱᠠᠨ ᠲᠣᠭᠣᠷᠢᠭ (Čiŋšan toɣoriɣ)	青山区	Qīngshān Qū	481,216	280	7,182
	4	Shiguai District	ᠰᠢᠭᠤᠶᠢᠲᠤ ᠲᠣᠭᠣᠷᠢᠭ (Siɣuyitu toɣoriɣ)	石拐区	Shíguǎi Qū	35,805	761	57.8
	5	Bayan Obo Mining District	ᠪᠠᠶᠠᠨ ᠣᠪᠣᠭ᠋᠎ᠠ ᠠᠭᠤᠷᠬᠠᠢ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠲᠣᠭᠣᠷᠢᠭ (Bayan Oboɣ-a Aɣurqai-yin toɣoriɣ)	白云鄂博矿区	Báiyún Èbó Kuàngqū	26,050	303	86
	6	Jiuyuan District	ᠵᠢᠦ ᠶᠤᠸᠠᠨ ᠲᠣᠭᠣᠷᠢᠭ (Jiü yuvan toɣoriɣ)	九原区	Jiǔyuán Qū	195,831	734	110.3
	7	Binhe New District	ᠪᡳᠨ ᠾᠧ ᠬᠣᠲᠠ ᠲᠣᠭᠣᠷᠢᠭ (Bin hė sin-e toɣoriɣ)	滨河新区	Bīnhé Xīn Qū	119,066	88	1353
	8	Guyang County	ᠭᠦᠶᠠᠩ ᠰᠢᠶᠠᠨ (Güyaŋ siyan)	固阳县	Gùyáng Xiàn	175,574	5,021	35
	9	Tumed Right Banner	ᠲᠦᠮᠡᠳ ᠪᠠᠷᠠᠭᠤᠨ ᠬᠣᠰᠢᠭᠤ (Tümed Baraɣun qosiɣu)	土默特右旗	Tǔmòtè Yòu Qí	276,453	2,368	116.7
	10	Darhan Muminggan United Banner	ᠳᠠᠷᠬᠠᠨ ᠮᠤᠤᠮᠢᠩᠭ᠋ᠠᠨ ᠬᠣᠯᠪᠣᠭᠠᠲᠤ ᠬᠣᠰᠢᠭᠤ (Darqan Muumiŋɣan Qolboɣatu qosiɣu)	达尔罕茂明安 联合旗	Dá'ěrhǎn Màomíng'ān Liánhé Qí	101,486	17,410	5.8

History

The area now known as Baotou was inhabited since ancient times by nomads, most notably the Mongols. Near the end of the Han Dynasty, Lü Bu, a particularly noteworthy warrior, was born in today's Jiuyuan District of Baotou. Compared to the capital, Hohhot, Baotou's construction as a city came relatively late, being incorporated as a town in 1809. The city's site was chosen because it was in an arable region of the Yellow River's Great Bend.

A railway from Beijing was constructed in 1923, and the city began spurring some industrial sites. A German-Chinese joint-venture in 1934 constructed the Baotou Airport and opened a weekly route connecting Baotou with Ningxia and Lanzhou.

When young Owen Lattimore visited Baotou in 1925, it was still "a little husk of a town in a great hollow shell of mud ramparts, where two busy streets made a traders' quarter", but already an important railhead. Qinghai and Gansu wool and hides were brought down the Huanghe by raft and boat from Lanzhou to Baotou, and shipped from Baotou by rail to the east (in particular, to Tianjin for export). The river traffic was one-way only, however, as the fast current made sailing up the Huanghe impractical. To travel from Baotou back to Lanzhou or Yinchuan, one would use a cart and camel road. There were also caravan roads from Baotou to Ordos and the Alxa League.^[3]

On September 19, 1949, after the September 19 Rebellion, Baotou fell under Communist control. The People's Government was formed in February 1950. In the early Communist years Baotou served as an industrial centre, with a significant portion of its economy coming from its steel production. The Iron and Steel Base in Baotou is one of"156 projects", which were constructed with the help of Soviet Union to develop China's national economy in the 1950s and 1960s, and it continues this reputation until this day.

Geography and climate

Baotou is located in the west of Inner Mongolia, located at the junction of two economic zones: the Bohai Economic Rim and the Upper Yellow River Natural Resources Enrichment Zone (黄河上游资源富集区). Its administrative area borders Mongolia to the north, while the Yellow River, which flows for 214 kilometres (133 mi) in the prefecture,^[4] is south of the urban area itself. The Tumochuan Plateau (土默川平原), Hetao Plateau, and Yin Mountains cross the urban area and central part of the prefecture. Baotou City ranges in latitude from 41° 20' to 42° 40' N and in longitude from 109° 50' to 111° 25' E.

Baotou features a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), marked by long, cold and very dry winters, hot, somewhat humid summers, and strong winds, especially in spring. Temperatures often fall below −15 °C (5 °F) in winter and rise above 30 °C (86 °F) in summer. The annual precipitation is approximately 300 millimetres (11.8 in), with more than half of it falling in July and August alone. Due to the aridity and elevation, temperature differences between day and night can be large, especially in spring. In 2002, there were 12 instances of dust storms.^[4]

Economy

Baotou is the largest economy of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,^[1] with a GDP value of RMB 340.95 billion in 2012, representing a 12.6% rise over the previous year, accounting for approximately 21.3% of the province's total.^[5]

Industrial zones:

• Baotou Xingsheng Economic & Technological Development Zone

The mines in Bayan Obo are the greatest source of rare earth metals globally. In 2005, they accounted for 45% of the total production on earth.^[6]

Demographics

Ethnic groups in Baotou, 2000 census.

Transportation

• Baotou is a terminus for both the Baolan Railway and the Jingbao Railway, heading for Lanzhou in the west and Beijing in the east, respectively. The city is served by two main railway stations, Baotou East Railway Station, and Baotou Railway Station.
• Baotou Airport serves the city with regular service to Beijing, Shanghai and Taiyuan.
• The city is connected by the Hubao Expressway to Inner Mongolia's capital, Hohhot.
• China National Highway 210

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Baotou.

• Baotou official website

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v t e Major cities along the Yellow River Province-level subdivisions Cities (from upper reaches to lower reaches) Gansu Lanzhou Baiyin Ningxia Zhongwei Wuzhong Yinchuan Shizuishan Inner Mongolia Wuhai Ordos Bayan Nur Baotou Hohhot (boundaries of upper and middle reaches) Shanxi Xinzhou Lüliang Linfen Yuncheng Shaanxi Yulin Yan'an Weinan Henan Sanmenxia Luoyang Jiyuan Jiaozuo Zhengzhou(boundaries of middle and lower reaches) Xinxiang Kaifeng Puyang Shandong Liaocheng Tai'an Jinan Dezhou Binzhou Zibo Dongying Major cities along the Yangtze River

v t e Baotou–Lanzhou Railway (← Beijing–Baotou Railway) Baotou East Baotou Baotou West Haye Hutong Baiyanhua Gongmiaozi Malashan Urat Front Banner Xixiaozhao Wuyuan Sifentan Linhe District Toudaoqiao Bayan Gol Hanggin Banner Jiangui Wuhai North Wuhai Wuhai West Huinong District Nuanquan Yinchuan Huangyangtan Daba Qingtongxia Zhongning County Huangyangwan Zhongwei Shapotou District Gantang Yingpanshui Great Wall Jingtai County Xingquanbao Hongxiantai Hongshaxian Bayin West Zhujiayao Fengshuicun Gaolan County Shaojiatang Shuiyuan Lanzhou East Lanzhou (Lanzhou–Xinjiang Railway →) Connecting Railways: Baotou–Shenmu Railway Baotou–Bayan Obo Railway Baotou Ring Railway Pingru Railway Baotou–Zhongwei Railway Gantang–Wuwei Railway Honghui Railway Longhai Railway