Baotou is a mid-sized industrial city in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, its urban areas are home to a population of approximately 1.78 million, with a total population of over 2.65 million accounting for counties under its jurisdiction. The city's Mongolian name means "place with deer," and an alternate name in Chinese is "Lucheng" meaning "Deer City." The area now known as Baotou was inhabited since ancient times by nomads, most notably the Mongols.