Baotou, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China

History : Ancient times : Foundation of the town : Early 20th century : Second Sino-Japanese War : Chinese civil war : Late 20th century : 1996 earthquake : 21st century | Administrative divisions | Economy | Prominent locations | Transport | Geography

🇨🇳 Baotou is the largest city by urban population in Inner Mongolia, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, its built-up area made up of 5 urban districts. The city's name, literally translated to "place with deer", is of Mongolic origin, meaning "City of Deer". Alternatively Baotou is known as the "City of Steel in Gobi".

Previously the town's principal industry was steel. However, in recent decades Baotou has become internationally known for processing rare earth minerals mined in Bayan Obo, making the city the largest Chinese source of the minerals. Though central to the city's economy, it also produces toxic tailings contained by the Baotou Tailings Dam.

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History: Ancient times The area now known as Baotou was inhabited by nomads, some of whose descendants would later be categorized as Mongols. Near the end of the Han Dynasty—206 BC–220 AD—Lü Bu, a particularly noteworthy warrior, was born in today's Jiuyuan District of Baotou.

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History: Foundation of the town Compared to the capital of Inner Mongolia, 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.

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History: Early 20th century The Gelaohui secret society and the Hui Muslim General Ma Fuxiang came to an agreement in 1922, in which Ma Fuxiang agreed to allow the Gelaohui to extort protection money from wool merchants in Baotou.

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 Yellow River 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 Yellow River 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.

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History: Second Sino-Japanese War Baotou was under Japanese control from 1937 until 1945.

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History: Chinese civil war On September 19, 1949, after the September 19 Rebellion, Baotou fell under Communist control. The People's Government was formed in February 1950.

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History: Late 20th century 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 the "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.

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History: 1996 earthquake On 3 May 1996, at 03:32AM UTC (11:32AM local time), an earthquake of MS 6.4 occurred. Since the epicenter of the earthquake was located close to the city, Baotou was very damaged by the earthquake: 26 people were killed, 453 injured and 196,633 lost their homes. The electrical infrastructure of the city was also damaged, and soil liquefaction occurred around the swamps of the Yellow River.

The earthquake, which destroyed many old houses, led to the reconstruction of Baotou. In 2002, the Baotou Municipal Government was awarded by UN-HABITAT for the improvements in shelter and the urban environments.

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History: 21st century In the early 21st century, Baotou's economy grew rapidly, growing about tenfold from 2000 to 2010. The city's gross domestic product peaked at about 386.763 billion renminbi (RMB) in 2016, and has shrunk significantly since then.

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

Hondlon District; Donghe District; Qingshan District; Shiguai District; Bayan'obo Mining District; Jiuyuan District; Guyang County; Tumed Right Banner; (Tumed Barun Banner); Darhan Muminggan United Banner; (Darhan Muminggan Holbot Banner).

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Economy Baotou is the largest economy of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and accounted for approximately 21.3% of Inner Mongolia's total gross domestic product (GDP) as of 2012. As of 2018, the city's GDP of 295.180 billion renminbi (RMB), a 7.22% increase from the previous year, but much lower than the city's peak of 386.763 billion RMB in 2016.

Baotou's secondary sector has proven crucial to the city's economy. As of 2016, it contributed 182.215 RMB to the city's economy, 47.11% of the city's total GDP. However, like the city's total economy, it has shrunk since then. As of 2020, the city's secondary sector contributed 115.300 billion RMB to Baotou's economy.

Baotou Xingsheng Economic & Technological Development Zone is an industrial zone in Baotou. The city processes ore from the mines in Bayan Obo, the greatest source of rare-earth metals globally. In 2005, they accounted for 45% of the total production on earth. The tailings ponds from the complex hydro-metallurgical and acid processing results in significant local water and land pollution. Both humans and animals have had disease because of this contamination.

As noted, in the early Communist years Baotou served as an industrial centre, with a significant portion of its economy coming from its industry around metals, mostly steel. The Iron and Steel Base of Bautou was constructed with the help of the Soviet Union to help China in developing its economy; It is one of those 156 projects that the Soviets helped building for that purpose in the 1950s and 1960s.

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Prominent locations • The 39,000 capacity Baotou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium(包头奥林匹克体育中心) is the main sports venue in the city and is used mostly for football matches.

Saihantalah Grasslands Park, central Baotou • Saihantalah Grasslands Park (赛汗塔拉城中草原) or Ecological Reserve is a large urban park in central Baotou, in the Qingshan district. The 5.5 km square park is home to thirty wild animal and bird species and is reputedly one of the largest urban parks in China. It is a popular recreational location and attracts 2 million visitors a year. • The largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Inner Mongolia, Badekar Monastery is located in Shiguai District. • The Baotou Tailings Dam or Weikuang Dam is a tailings dam about 20 km outside the main city of Baotou. It is owned by Baotou Steel and contains the waste from rare earth mineral refineries. In 2015, BBC journalist Tim Maughan wrote that the dam was a "toxic lake" and the area like "hell on earth". He said he was unable to tell where the refineries ended and the city began. He compared the city to images in the movie Tron, where "the side streets are filled with drunk, vomiting refinery workers that spill from bars and barbecue joints". In 2016, serious contamination of farming land in the dam's immediate vicinity was formally identified by Chinese researchers. The rare earth minerals are mined in Bayan Obo Mining District, about 120 km from Baotou and are used in the manufacture of many modern electronics, including smartphones, TVs and wind turbines.

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Transport • 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 Donghe Airport serves the city with regular service to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. • The city is connected by the Hubao Expressway to Inner Mongolia's capital, Hohhot. • China National Highway 210 • Baotou Metro

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Geography 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's Dornogovi Province to the north, while the Yellow River, which flows for 214 km (133 mi) in the prefecture, 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.

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Baotou, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China 
<b>Baotou, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China</b>
Image: Nickm57

Baotou was ranked #741 by the Nomad List which evaluates and ranks remote work hubs by cost, internet, fun and safety. Baotou has a population of over 2,070,801 people. Baotou also forms the centre of the wider Baotou metropolitan area which has a population of over 2,650,000 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Baotou see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities include:

🇿🇦 Mbombela, South Africa
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license | Nomad

East of: 109.953

🇨🇳 Huaihua 109.986

🇮🇩 Salatiga 110

🇮🇩 Purworejo 110.03

🇮🇩 Temanggung 110.167

🇨🇳 Yulin 110.181

🇨🇳 Lingui 110.2

🇮🇩 Magelang 110.217

🇨🇳 Guilin 110.277

🇲🇾 Kuching 110.333

🇨🇳 Lingchuan 110.333

West of: 109.953

🇨🇳 Ordos 109.783

🇨🇳 Yulin 109.734

🇮🇩 Batang 109.73

🇨🇳 Jishou 109.728

🇨🇳 Furong 109.72

🇮🇩 Pekalongan 109.667

🇮🇩 Bengkayang 109.664

🇮🇩 Kebumen 109.661

🇨🇳 Guigang 109.609

🇨🇳 Fenghuang 109.59

Antipodal to Baotou is: -70.047,-40.621

Locations Near: Baotou 109.953,40.6213

🇨🇳 Ordos 109.783,39.6 d: 114.5  

🇨🇳 Hohhot 111.652,40.811 d: 144.7  

🇨🇳 Yulin 109.734,38.286 d: 260.4  

🇨🇳 Bayan Nur 107.387,40.743 d: 216.8  

🇨🇳 Bayannur 107.387,40.743 d: 216.8  

🇨🇳 Ulanqab 113.132,40.994 d: 270.7  

🇨🇳 Datong 113.284,40.095 d: 288.2  

🇨🇳 Yingxian 113.191,39.554 d: 299.9  

🇨🇳 Taiyuan 112.56,37.869 d: 379.5  

🇨🇳 Fenyang 111.77,37.262 d: 405.3  

Antipodal to: Baotou -70.047,-40.621

🇦🇷 Bariloche -71.31,-41.133 d: 19894.6  

🇦🇷 San Carlos de Bariloche -71.312,-41.143 d: 19893.9  

🇦🇷 Neuquén City -68.064,-38.953 d: 19763.8  

🇦🇷 Neuquén -68.052,-38.926 d: 19760.9  

🇦🇷 Cipolletti -67.987,-38.929 d: 19757.4  

🇦🇷 General Roca -67.575,-39.027 d: 19739.4  

🇨🇱 Port Montt -72.933,-41.467 d: 19755.4  

🇨🇱 Puerto Montt -72.933,-41.467 d: 19755.4  

🇨🇱 Temuco -72.667,-38.733 d: 19708  

🇨🇱 Angol -72.25,-38.25 d: 19690.6  

Bing Map

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