Trip to Baotou, Inner Mongolia

For the May Day holiday, I wanted somewhere convenient and uncrowded — ended up choosing Baotou. Some friends asked why; to me, travel is about going places I haven’t been. Notes from the trip.

Transportation

Beijing → Baotou is easy by high‑speed rail. Taxi to Beijing North (~30 minutes), then a bit over 3 hours to Baotou. Convenient, though the usual on‑train noise was unavoidable.

Accommodation

We stayed at Hanting. Over May Day, it was inexpensive — ~¥200+ with breakfast — booked 5 days, 4 nights.

To save costs, compare Ctrip/Meituan/QuNar. My final booking on QuNar was cheaper than Ctrip by a few dozen yuan.

Trade‑offs: Hanting’s soundproofing isn’t great; All Seasons left a better impression. Still, buffet breakfast was decent, time‑ and cost‑effective, and service acceptable. We did switch rooms once to avoid street noise.

Food

Tried some things I don’t usually get:

1. Shaomai — better than the “Inner Mongolia shaomai” I’ve had in Beijing
2. Roasted milk skin — dairy is strong in Inner Mongolia; lots of variety
3. Tea soup
4. Stew dishes

Overall prices were reasonable — didn’t spend much on food.

Sights

I don’t drive, so we mostly took taxis, which limits flexibility. Highlights:

1. 赛汗塔拉城中草原
2. 包头博物馆
   • 去玩博物馆一定要注意是否需要预约和开放时间，比如包头博物馆免费，开放时间：每周二至周日，周一闭馆。
3. 赵北长城遗址
4. 湿地公园
5. 世界鹿园
6. 黄河大集
7. 北方兵器城

We also wandered through several city parks. I enjoy slow, aimless walks in the streets.

Is Baotou uncrowded?

During my stay, it felt relatively uncrowded — rarely saw throngs. A taxi driver said that over May Day, “ten leave Baotou, two come in.” It’s an industrial city, not a tourist city. Also, Inner Mongolia’s population is ~20+ million — similar to Beijing’s — but Baotou’s population is only a few million, with a land area larger than Beijing by 10k+ km².

So yes, fewer people — which I enjoyed: fewer lines and less noise.

Final Thoughts

Baotou was great; I’d come again. Driving would help — taxis aren’t always convenient. Time to finally get comfortable behind the wheel this year; waiting on a license plate forever isn’t a plan.