Economy

Baotou is the largest economy of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with a GDP value of RMB 340.95 billion in 2012, representing a 12.6% rise over the previous year, accounting for approximately 21.3% of the province's total.Baotou Xingsheng Economic & Technological Development Zone is an industrial zone in Baotou. The mines in Bayan Obo are the greatest source of rare earth metals globally. In 2005, they accounted for 45% of the total production on earth.

Demographics

Ethnic groups in Baotou, 2000 census.EthnicityPopulationPercentageHan Chinese2,122,73794.16%Mongol67,2092.98%Hui Chinese36,2341.61%Manchu22,8261.01%Korean8480.04%

History

The area now known as Baotou was inhabited since ancient times by nomads, most notably the Mongols. Near the end of the Han Dynasty, Lü Bu, a particularly noteworthy warrior, was born in today's Jiuyuan District of Baotou. Compared to the capital of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot, Baotou's construction as a city came relatively late, being incorporated as a town in 1809. The city's site was chosen because it was in an arable region of the Yellow River's Great Bend.The Gelaohui secret society and the Hui Muslim General Ma Fuxiang came to an agreement in 1922, in which Ma Fuxiang agreed to allow the Gelaohui to extort protection money from wool merchants in Baotou.A railway from Beijing was constructed in 1923, and the city began spurring some industrial sites. A German-Chinese joint-venture in 1934 constructed the Baotou Airport and opened a weekly route connecting Baotou with Ningxia and Lanzhou.When young Owen Lattimore visited Baotou in 1925, it was still "a little husk of a town in a great hollow shell of mud ramparts, where two busy streets made a traders' quarter", but already an important railhead. Qinghai and Gansu wool and hides were brought down the Yellow River by raft and boat from Lanzhou to Baotou, and shipped from Baotou by rail to the east (in particular, to Tianjin for export). The river traffic was one-way only, however, as the fast current made sailing up the Yellow River impractical. To travel from Baotou back to Lanzhou or Yinchuan, one would use a cart and camel road. There were also caravan roads from Baotou to Ordos and the Alxa League.On September 19, 1949, after the September 19 Rebellion, Baotou fell under Communist control. The People's Government was formed in February 1950. In the early Communist years Baotou served as an industrial centre, with a significant portion of its economy coming from its steel production. The Iron and Steel Base in Baotou is one of the "156 projects", which were constructed with the help of Soviet Union to develop China's national economy in the 1950s and 1960s, and it continues this reputation until this day.