China News Service, Baotou, October 16th. Title: Drinking new tea in an old factory: A story about the rejuvenation of Baotou, an industrial city in northern China.
China News Service reporter Li Aiping
At 3 pm on the 16th, more than 600 seats in the large teahouse in the "Baomian 1958" themed cultural district in Baotou City were filled. Sunlight slants down through the old skylight on the roof, shining on thermos bottles, enamel jars and textile machine parts from the 1970s and 1980s. 71-year-old Han Shuhua took a sip of tea and looked around, her eyes moist.
"The machines from back then are still there, but the environment is completely new." Han Shuhua said, seeing these old objects, her mind was filled with images of working with the workers in the past, which made her very happy.
Baotou Cotton Textile Mill was founded in 1958 and became the largest cotton textile mill in Asia in 1960. After the factory was relocated in 2001, the old factory building became idle. In 2024, Baotou officials will regard "Baomian 1958" as an important carrier of cultural highland and carry out renovation and construction here. The 6,700 square meter old factory building has been reactivated, and more than 40 characteristic stalls have been turned into teahouses, snack stalls, and cultural and creative shops.
"We don't want to turn it into an exquisite commercial street." Project leader Yang Jian said, "You can drink tea and play cards here, and it can also allow old workers to find the shadow of their youth." Since its opening, it has received a total of 532,100 tourists, not only attracting people from Beijing, Shanghai, Shaanxi and other places to come here, but also tourists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan this year.
"Baomian 1958" is just a microcosm of the renewal of this northern industrial city. The "Ten Miles of Spring Breeze" theme block, which was transformed from the former Baotou City Welfare Institute, is brewing a rejuvenation experiment.
On the 16th, the reporter saw at the scene that the walls of the original welfare home had been broken through, and the renovated red brick building had a unique style. The old trees and hexagonal pavilion were retained in the courtyard. One-stop flower shops, coffee shops, and tea restaurants have settled in, many of which are the first in Inner Mongolia.
"We regard 'playable, shopping and sunbathing' as the attributes of the neighborhood and create a 'host' neighborhood that is biased towards fashion trends." Guo Shuyang, the person in charge of the operation and planning of the "Spring Breeze Ten Miles" neighborhood, said that since the opening of the street, the peak daily passenger flow during holidays has reached 20,000 people, and the average occupancy rate of the 61 rooms in the Hi Inn Hotel in the neighborhood has reached 82.1%.
The Old Baotou Zaoxikou Historical and Cultural District, located in Donghe District, Baotou City, carries the city’s longer commercial memory.
According to reports, there are 19 traditional Shanxi-Mongolian style courtyards in this block from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China. It is the largest and relatively well-preserved traditional residential building complex in Inner Mongolia. Zhu Jianping, a resident of Donghe District, runs a traditional hot pot restaurant in his old house. He said: "When I was a child, camel caravans and vendors passed by here. Now the neighborhood has attracted a total of 2.53 million tourists, and it has become a beautiful scenery for local cultural tourism."
News from the Baotou Municipal Government shows that behind the above changes is a systematic urban renewal action.
In 2025, Baotou City was successfully selected into the list of central financial support for the implementation of urban renewal actions. It was the only city in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region selected and will receive a special central financial subsidy of 1.2 billion yuan within three years. The city focuses on five aspects, including the revitalization of historical districts, and has fully implemented 73 demonstration projects with an estimated total investment of 3.835 billion yuan.
In terms of urban domestic sewage treatment, Baotou has built two model areas with full domestic sewage coverage in the east and southern suburbs of the East River. By 2025, the city's centralized collection rate of urban domestic sewage will be 83.19%. By exploring the integrated management model of urban water supply and drainage along the Yellow River and improving the multiple reuse paths of sewage resources, the contradiction between water shortage for industrial development and ecological protection of the Yellow River has been solved.
"Autonomous renewal and demolition of old housing to original construction is an important part of building a livable and resilient city. As an old industrial city, Baotou must find a new way to eliminate hidden dangers while retaining the smoke and smoke." said Gao Hao, deputy director of the Baotou Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau.
From the teahouse of "Baomian 1958" to the coffee shop of "Ten Miles of Spring Breeze" to the historical and cultural district of Old Baotou Zouxikou, a northern industrial city with a population of 2.79 million and an urbanization rate of 88%, Baotou City's urban renewal is allowing old factories to breathe again, allowing industrial memories to reinterweave with citizens' lives.
