3 Days in Baotou

Baotou grew in the 1950s as a steel and defense-industry base; the open-air weapons park rolls out tanks and guns under the sky, and the Saihantala meadow — Mongolian for "beautiful grassland" — keeps deer inside the city edge.

1. baotou northern weapons city
2. baotou saihantala grassland

Northeast to the Wudang Lha monastery in the Yinshan folds — Tibetan Buddhist halls founded in the early Qing, expanded in 1749, the 14th year of the Qianlong reign, under the name Guangjue Temple, listed as a state-protected site in 1996. On the way back, the Shimen valley reservoir makes a quiet stop.

1. baotou wudang lha monastery
2. baotou shimen scenic area

North to the steppe at about 1,700 m — horse rides, milk tea in a yurt and the Qing-era Puhui Temple by the Xilamuren river; evening return and the overnight train onward.

1. baotou xilamuren grassland