Bāotóu shì (包头市)
Bāotóu, or Paotow, is the largest city in Inner Mongolia. The city used to be a center of steel manufacturing and it is known as Cǎoyuán Gāngchéng (草原钢城, City of Steel in the Gobi). Nowadays the importance of steel has diminished and more than 50% of the world's rare-earth minerals are produced in Bāotóu.
In 1996, the city was heavily damaged by an earthquake.
Points of interest
- The Badekar Monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Inner Mongolia. It is located in the Shiguai District.
- Bāotóu àolínpǐkè Tǐyù Zhōngxīn (包头奥林匹克体育中心, Bāotóu, Olympic Sports Centre Stadium) can seat 39,000 spectators. It is the main sports venue in Bāotóu and mostly used for soccer games.
- The Bāotóu Tailings Dam is also known as the Weikuang Dam. It was built to deposit toxic waste from rare-earth mineral refineries. The dam is 20 km from Bāotóu.
- Sàihàntǎlā Chéngzhōng Cǎoyuán (赛汗塔拉城中草原, Sàihàntǎlā Grasslands Park) is an ecologial reserve in the central Bāotóu's Qingshan district. The park measures 5.5 km², making it one of the largest urban parks in China. It is popular with locals and it is home to numerous animal species, including many birds. It is the only grassland in China that is situated within a city.
- The Chéngjísīhán Líng (成吉思汗陵, Mausoleum of Genghis Khan) is about 185 km (115 mi) south from Bāotóu.
There are several hotels and restaurants in Bāotóu. The city is on the north bank of the Huánghé (Yellow River), 575 km west of Beijing.
; "Image 1 - Bāotóu [98kB]")
; "Image 2 - Bāotóu by night ©Zheng Kai [78kB]")
; "Image 3 - Bāotóu ©Qin Bennie
[126kB]")