Baotou

Baotou 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
Country	People's Republic of China
Region	Inner Mongolia
County-level divisions	10
Township divisions
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	Bad rounding here95/km2 (Bad rounding here250/sq mi)
• Urban	1,720,099
• Urban density	Bad rounding here6,300/km2 (Bad rounding here16,000/sq mi)
• Metro	1,977,785
• Metro density	Bad rounding here670/km2 (Bad rounding here1,700/sq mi)
• Major nationalities	Han, Mongolian
Time zone	China Standard Time (UTC+8)
Postal code	014000
Area code(s)	472
License plate prefixes	蒙B
Local Dialect	Jin: Baotou dialect
Website	baotou.gov.cn

Baotou
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	包头
Traditional Chinese	包頭
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Bāotóu
Mongolian name
Mongolian	Buɣutu

Baotou (Mongolian: Buɣutu, Mongolian Cyrillic: Бугaт; Chinese: 包头) is a mid-sized industrial city in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. 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	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010 Census)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
	1	Hondlon District	昆都仑区	Kūndūlún Qū	726,838	301	6,108
	2	Donghe District	东河区	Dōnghé Qū	512,045	423	6,024
	3	Qingshan District	青山区	Qīngshān Qū	481,216	280	7,182
	4	Shiguai District	石拐区	Shíguǎi Qū	35,805	761	57.8
	5	Bayan Obo Mining District	白云鄂博矿区	Báiyún Èbó Kuàngqū	26,050	303	86
	6	Jiuyuan District	九原区	Jiǔyuán Qū	195,831	734	110.3
	7	Binhe New District	滨河新区	Bīnhé Xīn Qū	119,066	88	1353
	8	Guyang County	固阳县	Gùyáng Xiàn	175,574	5,021	35
	9	Tumed Right Banner	土默特右旗	Tǔmòtè Yòu Qí	276,453	2,368	116.7
	10	Darhan Muminggan United Banner	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 here. 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 1931^{[citation needed]}, 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.

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, 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, 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.

Climate data for Baotou (1971−2000)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	−4.1 (24.6)	0.4 (32.7)	7.6 (45.7)	16.9 (62.4)	23.9 (75)	28.2 (82.8)	29.6 (85.3)	27.1 (80.8)	22.1 (71.8)	14.8 (58.6)	5.2 (41.4)	−2.3 (27.9)	14.12 (57.42)
Average low °C (°F)	−16.8 (1.8)	−12.7 (9.1)	−5.6 (21.9)	2.0 (35.6)	8.7 (47.7)	13.6 (56.5)	17.1 (62.8)	15.3 (59.5)	8.7 (47.7)	1.3 (34.3)	−7.2 (19)	−14.3 (6.3)	0.84 (33.52)
Precipitation mm (inches)	2.1 (0.083)	3.8 (0.15)	8.3 (0.327)	8.1 (0.319)	17.3 (0.681)	28.0 (1.102)	81.3 (3.201)	87.7 (3.453)	38.7 (1.524)	17.1 (0.673)	3.8 (0.15)	1.4 (0.055)	297.6 (11.718)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	1.4	2.2	2.9	3.0	4.7	7.0	10.5	10.7	6.9	3.8	1.7	1.5	56.3
Source: Weather China

Economy

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.

Demographics

Ethnic groups in Baotou, 2000 census.

Ethnicity	Population	Percentage
Han Chinese	2.122.737	94.16%
Mongol	67.209	2.98%
Hui Chinese	36.234	1.61%
Manchu	22.826	1.01%
Korean	848	0.04%

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

External links

• Baotou official website