Fascinating adventures within and around Baotou

Baotou Steel Works 1997 [Photo by Bruce Connolly/chinadaily.com.cn]

Baotou is literally ‘The land with deer’, or alternatively Lucheng, ’Deer City’. Approaching it on that warm September evening in 1997 to the south appeared a seemingly endless sea of sand bathed in the soft glow of early evening sun. The city, at that time, had an older eastern area but a newer western district, where I would stay, stretched westwards to major industrial works established in the earlier 1950’s as part of China’s drive to develop and modernise its economy. Although nomadic tribes had long moved through the area it was not until 1809 that Baotou was actually incorporated as a town.

Across from the my base, the Baotou Hotel on Gangtie Dajie (Iron and Steel Road), spreads Arding Square. Fountains played when I walked there in the warm autumn air. Drink stalls provided convenient locations for people watching although I tended to be the curiosity for amused locals. It did appear that western Baotou was a relatively new town built to provide modern facilities for the influx of industrial workers from other parts China.

The square then in 1997 was home to an exhibition hall illustrating the city’s significant industrial role, particularly with iron and steel, but also railway trucks, heavy duty vehicles, textiles, agricultural produce and more. Surrounding areas were rich in coal and ‘rare earth’ deposits. The mines at Bayan Obo represented the world’s greatest source of ‘rare-earth’ metals.