Baotou Transportation

Baotou is a waterfront city of 1,300,000, the largest in Inner Mongolia. The city lies along the Yellow River on its Great Bend.  Its major dock called Nanhaihu was located on the north bank of the Nanhai Wetland Scenic Area. It was an important ferry terminus in the old channel of the Yellow River. At present, the city is a major traffic hub including highway, rail and air transportation linking north and northwest China.

Baotou's modern airport operates scheduled flights to many of China's bigger cities. Major rail lines like Jingbao (Beijing – Baotou) and Baolan (Baotou – Lanzhou) intersect in the city. In addition to Beijing and Lanzhou, rail service extends southeast to Shanghai and Ningbo; west to Yinchuan and south to Taiyuan and Xi'an. Two national highways (nos. 110 and 210) connect the city with several other cities. The Hubao Expressway connects Baotou to Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia.

For intra-city transportation, Baotou has more than 6,000 taxis and some forty-eight bus lines that blanket the city and even service the suburbs.
 

Baotou Airport (BAV) is located in Donghe District, about 2.7 kilometers southwest of the East Railway Station, 23 kilometers (about 14 miles) from the city center (Kundulun District). The airport was first built in 1934. In May, 2006, the airport conducted a restoration on the airfield and the project was inspected and the final acceptance checks were made in December, 2007. Former runway is expanded into 2,800 meters (3,062 yards) long and 60 meters (66 yards) wide. Parking apron has been enlarged into 58,000 square meters (about 14 acres) which can handle seven medium and large airplanes. This facility has become increasingly important as demonstrated by its designation as the alternate airport for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The passenger terminal will put through about 300,000 passengers a year. The reconstruction of the airport greatly lifts the strain on the air transportation to or from the city. Currently, it has scheduled flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Taiyuan, Guangzhou and Hohhot every day and four flights a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) to Chengdu and Shenyang.

Parking lot of the passenger terminal building was completed in 1999, designed to have a capacity of 210 cars. As the passengers get increasing more, parking spaces are insufficient. At present, the parking lot is 2,480 square meters (2,966 square yards) larger than before and 100 parking spaces are added.

There are no shuttle or city bus lines between downtown and the airport. Taxis are the only means of public transportation to get into the city. Metered taxis charge CNY10 from the East Railway Station and CNY40 from the city center (Kundulun District) to go the airport. It is a good idea for passengers to agree upon a fare beforehand whether the cab is metered or not.

Tips: The CAAC (the Civil Aviation Administration of China) ticket office is located in Baotou Hotel, Kundulun District, about 23 kilometers from the airport.

Baotou Railway Station and Baotou East Railway Station are the two main rail hubs in the city. Trains to many major cities can easily be found at either station. The former station is in Aerding Street of Kundulun District and can be reached by taking Bus nos. 1, 2, 8, 15, 22, 39, 41, 46, 50, 60, 64, and 100. It was the joint area of Beijing-Baotou Railway and Baotou-Lanzhou Railway. The latter station is the east railway station located at Donghe District and can be reached by taking Bus nos. 7, 10, 16, 17, 18, 30, 34, 49, 50, and 57. Trains to Xi'an, Changsha, Chengdu, Datong, Taiyuan, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Jinan, Jiayuguan, Lanzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shijazhuang, Tianjin, Zhengzhou and many other cities are all available here. Passengers should make sure they are going to the correct station for their journey. The city's two railway stations are rather distant from each other, so going to the wrong one could cause a considerable waste of time.
 

 Major Rail Lines from Baotou to:

Two smaller stations in Baotou are the West Railway Station and the North Railway Station both of which are located in Kundulun District. Most of the trains here run to destinations west of Wuhai City and the Baiyun Mineral District of Baotou (Baiyun’ebo). Trains to Xi'an, Changsha, Chengdu, Datong, Taiyuan, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Jinan, Jiayuguan, Lanzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qinhuangdao, Shijiazhuang, Shanghai, Tianjin, Zhengzhou and many other cities are all available. Passengers should draw special attention to testify which railway station they will go. The two railway stations are far away from each other. It making mistake about them, they will have scare time to catch the train.
 

There are two bus stations in Baotou for long distance travel. Both stations serve many of the major cities in China.

 New Long-Distance Bus Station
(aka Donghequ (Donghe Distrct) Long-Distance Bus Station)
Address: in former Wenzhou Shangmao Cheng, near the East Railway Station
Bus Routes: Nos. 13,17, 34

 Long-Distance Bus Station
(aka Kunqu (Kundulun District Long-Distance Bus Station)
Address: at the intersection of Tuanjie Da Jie and Sanba Lu

The Baotou-Hohhot Expressway was one of the earliest freeways built in this ethnic minority area of China. Hohhot is only about 2 hours from Baotou. The Baotou-Hohhot buses depart every eighteen to thirty minutes. The Hohhot Long-Distance Bus Station also has many buses daily to the city district and other regions of Baotou.
 

There are forty-eight city bus liens servicing the districts and suburbs of Baotou City. These are conductorless buses and the ticket price is usually CNY1. Some buses that run a longer distance (for example, Bus no. 35 between Kundulun and Hedong Districts) may charge CNY2. Usually signs are posted inside the buses designating the fares.

Fares can also vary between different bus types. Air- conditioned buses are CNY1 more expensive than those that do not have that feature. The ticket prices for microbuses depend on the distance traveled. Monthly tickets are available, but note that the CNY 60-per-month ticket cannot be used for microbuses nos. 5, 10 and 35. Tickets with a value of CNY 80 or more can be used on all buses.

In addition, there are some special tourist buses for visitors to choose.
 Line 1 (double-deck bus)
Qiate (– Bayi Park – Baotou Hotel – Yinhe Square – TV Station –) Labor (Laodong) Park
Ticket Price: CNY1 for the whole course
Operating Hours: 09:00-17:30 every 40 minutes
Duration (for a single trip): 55 minutes

 Line 2 Qiate – Nanhai Park (Nanhai Wetland Scenic Area)
Ticket Price: CNY3 for one way, CNY5 for round trip
Operating Hours: Holidays and weekends from May to October departing at 08:30 and 09:30 and returning at 16:00 and 16:30.

 Line 3 Minhang Community (– Qiate –) Kundulun Reservoir
Ticket Price: CNY5 for one way, CNY9 for round trip
Operating Hours: Holidays and weekends from May to October departing at 08:00 and 08:30 and returning at 16:00 and 16:30.

 Line 4 Minzhu Lu (– Qingshan Park, Aerding Park –) Kundulun Reservoir
Ticket Price: CNY3 for one way, CNY5 for round trip
Operating Hours: Seasonal buses departing at 08:00 and 08:30 and returning at 16:00 and 16:30.

Note: The city of Baotou includes Kundulun District (Kunqu for short), Qingshan, Hedong and Donghe Districts.  Hedong, which is the farthest from city center can be reached by bus nos. 5, 10, 19, 24, 26, 32, 35, 133 and Special Tourist Bus Lines 2 and 3. In Donghe District, many city buses depart from the square in front of the East Railway Station.
 

Shuttling in the city by taxi is quite convenient so that it is the option of many locals and visitors. However, it is said that only a small part of taxi drivers charge by meter. Anyway, here is the charging standard for your reference:

Fare	Daytime	Night
Flag-down Rate for First 2km (1.2mi)	CNY6	CNY6.5
Fare between 2-10km (1.2-6mi)	CNY1.5/km	CNY1.7/km
Fare beyond 10km (6mi)	CNY2.25/km	CNY2.55/km
Fuel Fee	CNY0.5 per ride