CHAPTER 1　Overview

Northern China by the Yellow River

A beautiful city on an industrial base

Graceful living, dazzling style

Charming environment

Baotou – a harmonious “City of Deer”

Baotou is the largest city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It is located in the west of the autonomous region, north China. It is also among the first 13 major noncapital cities picked by the Chinese State Council with a population of over one million. Its geographic location makes it a pivotal hub connecting north and northwest China, hence its key position in the Belt and Road Initiative. Today, the city is a leader enjoying many development priorities as China opens to its northern neighbors. The so-called Mongolian “Golden Triangle”, made up of the three major cities of Baotou, Hohhot and Erdos, constitutes the majority of Inner Mongolia’s economic power.

After several major waves of migration throughout history, Baotou had had nearly 2.86 million permanent residents from 51 ethnic groups by the end of 2016, about 2.37 million of whom lived in urban areas. Living together with the ethnic Mongolians, who have been residents here for centuries, are Han, Hui, Manchu, Daur, Oroqen and many other ethnic groups, all of whom primarily originate from northern and northeastern China.

Baotou is among China’s top 20 industrial cities and top 50 investment-friendly cities. Massive state funded projects like Baogang Group, Inner Mongolia First Machinery Group, Inner Mongolia North Heavy Industries Group, Baotou Aluminum Group, and East Hope Rare Earth Aluminum Corporation are the pillars of the city’s industrial base. With the scope of its industry now covering ferrous materials, aluminum, equipment manufacturing, power generation, rare earth minerals, construction materials and coal chemicals, Baotou has earned its place as one of China’s key bases of energy, raw materials, heavy chemicals and military equipment. Now that the city also hosts processing and assembly enterprises transferred from other parts of China, Baotou has also evolved into a regional hub of modern logistics.

City Emblem

The city emblem of Baotou can be blazoned as “lengthwise, a steel I-beam, sable, on a white field overall, a gold buck statant within and conjoined to a gold annulet”. In more modern speech we would say it is the side view of a steel I-beam on a white background with a gold deer in the foreground.

City Tree and Flower

With the goal of expanding urban green space and landscaping, as well as enriching local people’s cultural life, on June 27, 1985 a motion was passed at the 15th session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth People’s Congress of Baotou, to respectively name the spruce and the dwarf dahlia the city tree and the city flower. The meeting also called on residents of all ethnic groups to take good care of those trees and flowers as a contribution to a better community.

The Legend of Baoketu – Origin of the City Name

According to legend, Genghis Khan – the Great Khan and founder of the Mongol Empire – once led his army through the Jiufeng Mountains in present day Tumd Right Banner, an administrative division under the jurisdiction of Baotou. Surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery, the Great Khan, having spotted a herd of deer sporting by the spring water, did not hesitate to pull out his bow and arrow and fire a shot, and hit the target. The mysterious buck fleetly ran off to the west with the arrow still embedded in his flank rather than fall down the way a normal deer would. The Great Khan and his fellow hunters chased after him all the way to Jiuyuan Prefecture (near present day Machi Town Archaeological Site in Baotou Jiuyuan District) when the injured deer suddenly fell and disappeared. The Great Khan moved to claim his rightful prize but there was nothing there other than a huge willow tree.

Bewildered, he ordered his men to dig up the roots. They kept digging until they had dug nearly twice the height of a man, only to find that the roots resembled the shape of the hit deer. The Great Khan blurted out “baoketu”, the Mongolian word for “place with deer”, in shock and reverence. He and his men then bowed down in worship of the holy deer under the sacred willow tree.

Baotou City is a Mandarin language transliteration of the word “baoketu”. The legend of Genghis Khan and the deer has even given the city an unforgettable yet poetic nickname: the City of Deer.

City Titles

Top Tourist City of China

UN Habitat Scroll of Honor Award

National Forest City

Model City for High-Quality Products

Happiest Cities in China

National Health City

National Model City of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Restoration

National Landscape Garden City

National Civilized City

National Model City of Ethnic Solidarity and Progress

National Double Support Model City

National Model City of Rebuilding Shanty Areas

National Model City of Scientific and Technological Advancement

China Environment Prize

Top 10 Demonstration Cities of Tourism and Leisure

National Model City for Legal Publicity and Education

National Outstanding City for Overall Administration of Public Security