Baotou City is located in western Inner Mongolia. It lies between the Tumochuan and Hetao Plains. The Yinshan Mountains wind through the center of the city. The Daqing and Wula Mountains are the main peaks of Baotou whose average altitude is 2,000 meters (6,562 feet). Bounded in the center by mountainous area, there are plateau grassland region in the north and plain area in the south. The Yellow River flows through the south of the city.
Baotou enjoys a semi-dry continental monsoon climate in the middle temperate zone. It is dry and windy in spring (March to May), and the rainfall becomes common in summer (especially in July and August). Weather in autumn is sunny while the winter is cold and it seldom rains or snows. Baotou enters winter in November. Late December to early January is the coldest period. The average temperature of January is about -11℃ (12.2℉). The hottest period ranges from late June to early July and the temperature may reach 39℃ (102.2℉).
May to October is thought to be the best time to visit Baotou. Visitors traveling to Baotou in spring and autumn should be prepared for cooler nights.
Baotou Airport (BAV) is located in Donghe District, about 2.7 kilometers southwest of the East Railway Station, 23 kilometers (about 14 miles) from the city center (Kundulun District). Baotou Airport was first built in 1934. Baotou Station of Chinese Civil Aviation was set up in 1956. In May, 2006, the airport conducted a restoration on the airfield. The airport operates scheduled flights to many of China's larger cities. There are no shuttle buses or city bus lines between downtown Baotou and the airport. Taxis are the only means of public transportation to get into the city. Metered taxis charge CNY10 from the East Railway Station and CNY40 from the city center (Kundulun District) to go the airport. It is a good idea for passengers to agree upon a fare beforehand whether the cab is metered or not.
Major rail lines like Jingbao (Beijing – Baotou) and Baolan (Baotou – Lanzhou) intersect in the city. In addition to Beijing and Lanzhous, rail service extends southeast to Shanghai and Ningbo; west to Yinchuan and south to Taiyuan and Xian. Two national highways (nos. 110 and 210) connect Baotou with several other cities. The Hubao Expressway connects Baotou to Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia.
For intra-city transportation, Baotou has more than 6,000 taxis and some forty-eight bus lines that blanket the city and even service the suburbs.
Baotou cuisine is renowned for its strong flavor of Northwest China. People here have habitually taken beef, lamb and noodles as their staple food. Gangtie Da Jie in western Baotou has a dozen various restaurants. Otherwise, there are many snack stalls at the corner of Nanmenwai Da Jie and Huancheng Lu. Food there is cheap and attracts flocks of people - especially in summer. Furthermore, Fuqiang Lu and Minzu Dong Lu are also famous food streets in Baotou, with many famous hotels and restaurants in the area.
Baotou is Mongolian for 'place where deer live'. Hence it is called by its other name, The Deer City. Baotou is the largest city which incorporates the largest green area in Inner Mongolia. The city has a profound history and abundant cultural relics. Human settlers moved there as early as six thousand years ago in the Neolithic Age.
During the Warring States Period (476BC-221BC), the Zhao State built the wall in the present suburb of Baotou, which is said by Chinese historians to be the oldest section of the Great Wall.
In the contemporary age, Baotou became a port and a town of great commercial importance for the fur trade, which relied on the waterways of the Yellow River. The railway construction from Beijing expanded to Baotou. However, Baotou is most famous for the discovery of the Baiyun'ebo iron mine in the early Twentieth Century.
Baotou is located at the foot of the Yinshan Mountains, and on the bank of the Yellow River. The people living in the vast land have made some brilliant achievements. Baotou has successively won the titles of National Civilized City, Garden City, and National Excellent Tourist City.
Various town squares give the city an energetic atmosphere. In Baotou, there are more than 130 squares and fountain of various different styles for people to spend their leisure time, As the largest city in Inner Mongolia, there is no lack of nightspots in Baotou you will also find many pubs and bars. Many of them are distributed around those city squares.
Aerding Square is located in front of the city government, facing the largest central town park of Baotou. Apart from Aerding Square, there are also some other squares including Youyi, Beifang, Jiuyuan, Siji, Tian'ehu (Swan Lake), Tuanjie, Yinhe. All these squares are designed ingeniously. Most of squares are equipped with entertainment facilities. They have symbol sculptures or buildings. For Example, Youyi Square is really the jewel in the crown. Yinhe Square is another large popular square in Baotou. There is grand modern manmade waterscape consisting of music fountain, water curtain film and laser performances.
- Festivals
- Nadam Fair In the seventh or the eighth lunar month, the Mongolians will hold Nadam fair in the grassland. Apart from some traditional performances and sports games, Nadam Fair is also a trade fair for farm and stockbreeding products and special local foods are served.
- Manai (Mare's Milk) Festival It is also a traditional Mongolian festival that is usually held in the latter days of the eighth lunar month. Drinking wine made of fermented mare's milk is the main activity to celebrate the harvest. Local people also serve meat eaten with the hands. Horse racing and folk singers' performance are wonderful, too.
- Hedeng (River Lantern) Festival in Nanhai Lake The Festival is held on the second day of the seventh lunar month. There are many different versions about the origin of the festival. Some said it was derived from sacrificing the river god and some believe it comes from the story about the daughter of dragon king of the East Sea defeating the evil dragon in the lake. There are temple fairs and opera performances in daytime. In the evening, people put lanterns on water surface let them drift along the river.