Day 1: July 15 – Baotou
After a hearty meal in the morning, we departed from Tangshan to Xinjiang. We chose to go via Beijing's Sixth Ring Road to Inner Mongolia, and after crossing Inner Mongolia, we would enter Xinjiang. After a slight traffic jam at the highway entrance due to security checks, we drove straight to Beijing. We applied for the Beijing entry permit on our phones. When we passed the Badaling section, traffic surged and moved slowly. It wasn't until we entered Inner Mongolia that the road became smooth and open. There weren't many vehicles on the road, although large trucks occasionally overtook and occupied the fast lane, slowing down smaller cars. There were also roadworks and detours, but they didn't cause congestion—sometimes we were slow, sometimes smooth.
After entering Inner Mongolia, the scenery on both sides of the road was quite different from the Hulunbuir Grassland we visited last year. There were fewer plants and lawns, notably less lush than the Hulunbuir Grassland. We didn't arrive in Baotou until sunset. Instead of going straight to the booked hotel, we decided to have dinner first.
Baotou is the Chinese transliteration of the Mongolian "Bukhtu," meaning "place with deer," hence it is also known as the Deer City. There are indeed deer sculptures on the main roads of Baotou. Baotou is a city under the jurisdiction of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and it is the manufacturing and industrial center as well as the largest city in Inner Mongolia. It is a central city in the Hohhot-Baotou-Yinchuan Economic Belt and the Hohhot-Baotou-Ordos City Cluster, and is known as the "Steel City on the Grassland" and the "Capital of Rare Earths." Although it is a heavy industrial city, green belts and parks are common throughout the city.
We searched online for famous restaurants in Baotou and finally decided to go to Ma Shoujiang Baotou Old Restaurant to fill our stomachs. We went to the Jiuyuan District branch, which was on the way to our hotel.
Outside the restaurant was a food stall area where many people were eating barbecue. On my suggestion, we decided to eat indoors. The interior decoration was very distinctive, with an open kitchen where guests could watch the chefs prepare and cook the dishes. The counters for cold dishes, roadside skewers, Old Donghe tea soup, halal shaomai, and lamb hot pot were all decorated in an antique style. The second floor housed private rooms, and even the staircase featured the restaurant's history. Here, besides delicious food, there was a strong cultural atmosphere.
We ordered half a portion of old-style crispy chicken, Zhameng mixed soup, steak pancake, brown sugar pancake, and Old Donghe tea soup, totaling 206 yuan.
The steak in the steak pancake was definitely real beef—tender and soft, with a full beef flavor. The pancake was soaked in the savory broth, and each bite was full of juice and rich meat aroma. We couldn't stop after one bite. The portion was generous; we left half unfinished.
Luckily, we followed the waiter's suggestion and ordered only half a crispy chicken. The chicken meat was firm and tender, the skin was fried crispy, and with the dipping sauce, the two of us finished the whole half chicken.
The Zhameng mixed soup was similar to our traditional geda soup (dough drop soup). The taste, ingredients, and dough drops were the same, except that it contained oil made from Inner Mongolia's special spices. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be the fruit of some plant, giving off a fragrant aroma. We drank bowl after bowl of the large pot of soup but still left a small half.
The Old Donghe tea soup was similar to our traditional tea soup, with a comparable taste. It wasn't very sweet, so I didn't like it much.
As for the brown sugar pancake, only Fatty (Pangzi) took a bite; I only tried a little—I really couldn't eat any more.
After dinner, we went directly to the booked Thank You Hotel (Shangkeyoupin Hotel). The price on Meituan was 153 yuan. There was convenient parking, the bed was large, and it was clean and tidy.
