Geographic coordinates: E109°50′-111°25′   N41°20′-42°40′

Population: 2.51 m (2007)   

Area: 10,721 sq mi

Average altitude: 3,280 ft

Average temperature: 43.5 °F 

Annual rainfall: 12.2 in

IDD: 86 – 0472

Baotou, a large industrial city in the remote regions of western Inner Mongolia, is a place that is visited mainly by people with more than just tourism in mind.  The city is a huge slab of urban area that runs for about 12 miles, being both that largest city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and probably the ugliest. Thankfully there are a few areas out of town that are interest, both scenically and historically.

The area where Baotou now lies was once fairly arid grassland that was populated by Mongolian nomads and grazers. Just to the north of both the Yellow River and the Gobi Desert, the city was established in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) on a Neolithic site. It was named “a land with deer” after the hundreds of these creatures that used to be found here.

The city is mainly just a transit point for these not here on business, and it is mainly visited by orthodox followers of either Gelukpa Buddhism or the cult of Genghis Khan. The Buddhist lamasery, Wudangzhao, is a very popular sight set in hill covered by willow trees. The Mausoleum of Genghis Khan, that possibly holds the tyrannous warlord’s ashes, is also not far.  

Attractions

Wudangzhao Lamasery