Baotou

Baotou[a] is the largest city by urban population in Inner Mongolia, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, as of the 2020 census, its built-up (or metro) area made up of its 5 urban districts is home to 2,261,089 people with a total population of 2,709,378 accounting for counties under its jurisdiction.[3] The city's namesake, literally translated to "place with deer", is of Mongolic origin or "Lucheng" (Chinese: 鹿城; pinyin: Lùchéng), meaning "City of Deer".[4] Alternatively Baotou is known as the "City of Steel in Gobi" (草原钢城; Cǎoyuán Gāngchéng). Steel was a major industry in the city. Today, Baotou refines over half of the rare-earth minerals produced in the world. This has led to environmental contamination near the industrial sites. The area now known as Baotou was inhabited by nomads, some of whose descendants would later be categorized as Mongols. Near the end of the Han Dynasty—206 BC–220 AD—Lü Bu, a particularly noteworthy warrior, was born in today's Jiuyuan District of Baotou.