Ordos is one of the twelve
major subdivisions of
Inner MongoliaInner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
, China. It is located within the
Ordos LoopThe Ordos Loop is a region of China west of Beijing. The Yellow River flows north-northeast, then east, and then south forming three sides of an imperfect rectangle. The south side is formed by the Wei River which rises not far from the southwest corner and flows east to the southeast corner...
of the
Yellow RiverThe Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
. Although mainly rural, Ordos is administered as a
prefecture-level cityA prefectural level city , prefectural city or prefectural level municipality is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China, ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative...
. The administrative seat is at
DongshengDongsheng District is a District and the seat of Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It has a district population of 230,579, with 162,317 in the urban area. The district is predominantly Han Chinese, but has a significant Mongol minority....
.
The area had been administered as
Yekhe Juu League since the 17th century, and was redesignated a prefecture-level city and renamed to Ordos on 26 February 2001. "Ordos" means "palaces" in the
Mongolian languageThe Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
; the name is sometimes claimed to be related to the eight white yurts of Genghis Khan. Linguistically, the
Ordos dialectThe Ordos dialect of Mongolian is spoken in the Ordos City region in Inner Mongolia. It is also sometimes classified as a language within the Mongolic language family or as a dialect of the Southern Mongolian standard language...
of Mongolian is quite different from neighboring
ChakharThe Chakhar dialect is a variety of Mongolian spoken the central region of Inner Mongolia. It is phonologically close to Khalkha and is the basis for the standard pronunciation of Mongolian in Inner Mongolia....
. Ordos is known for its lavish government projects, including the new Ordos City, a city of exquisite buildings and abundant infrastructure seldom used by residents. It will be hosting 2012
Miss WorldThe Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
Final.
Geography and climate
Ordos's prefectural administrative region occupies 86752 square kilometres (33,495.1 sq mi) and covers the bigger part of the
Ordos DesertThe Ordos Desert is a desert and steppe region lying on a plateau in the south of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China . The soil of the Ordos is a mixture of clay and sand and, as a result, is poorly suited for agriculture. It extends over an area of...
, although the urban area itself is relatively small. The region borders the prefectures of
HohhotHohhot , is a city in north-central China and the capital of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, serving as the region's administrative, economic, and cultural centre....
to the east,
BaotouBaotou 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...
to the northeast,
Bayan NurBayannur is a prefecture-level city in western Inner Mongolia. Until December 1, 2003, the area was called the Bayannur league.Bayannur city has an area of 65,788 km². It borders Mongolia to the north, Alxa to the west, Ordos to the south and Baotou to the east...
to the north,
Alxa LeagueAlxa League is one of 12 prefecture level divisions and three extant leagues of Inner Mongolia. The league borders Mongolia to the north, Bayan Nur to the northeast, Wuhai and Ordos to the east, Ningxia to the southeast, and Gansu to the south and west. The capital is Bayan Hot in the aimag's...
to the northwest,
WuhaiWuhai is a prefecture-level city and regional center in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is located on the Huang He between the Gobi and Ordos deserts...
to the west, the
NingxiaNingxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
Hui Autonomous Region to its southwest, and the provinces of
Shaanxi' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
and
Shanxi' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
to the south.
The area of Ordos Shi can roughly be divided into a hilly area in the east, high
plateauIn geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
s in the west and center, sandy
desertA desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s in the north and south, and plains at the southern bank of the
Yellow riverThe Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
. The highest elevation, at 2149 metres (7,050.5 ft), is located in the west, the lowest point, at 850 m (2,788.7 ft), is in the east.
There are two large deserts within the territory of Ordos Shi, namely the Kubuqi Desert (库布其沙漠) in the north, and the Maowusu Desert (毛乌素沙漠) in the south. The Kubuqi Desert occupies 19.2% of Ordos, or 16600 km² (6,409.3 sq mi), while the Maowusu Desert takes up 28.8% of the area, or 25000 km² (9,652.6 sq mi).
Ordos features a cold semi-arid climate (
KöppenThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
BSk), marked by long, cold and very dry winters, very warm, somewhat humid summers, and strong winds, especially in spring. The annual precipitation is 300 to 400 mm (11.8 to 15.7 in) in the eastern part of the prefecture, and 190 to 350 mm (7.5 to 13.8 in) in the western part. Most of the rain falls between July and September, with very little snow in winter.
Economy
Ordos is one of the richest regions of China. With a nominal per-capita GDP of US$14,500 in 2008, it is ranked ahead of the capital city of China,
BeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. It is extremely rich in natural resources, having one sixth of the coal reserve in China. The pillars of its economy are textile (wool),
coalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mining, petrochemicals,
electricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
generation and production of building materials.
Administrative Subdivisions
Ordos Shi is divided into one district and seven
banners:
| Map |
| |
| # |
Name |
Hanzi |
Hanyu Pinyin |
Population (2004 est.) |
Area (km²) |
Density (/km²) |
| 1 |
Dongsheng District |
东胜区 |
Dōngshèng Qū |
230,000 |
2,137 |
108 |
| 2 |
Dalad Banner Dalad Banner is a banner of western Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, lying on the southern bank of the Yellow River. It is under the administration of Ordos City, although it is closer to the city of Baotou, to the north-northwest....
|
达拉特旗 |
Dálātè Qí |
330,000 |
8,192 |
40 |
| 3 |
Jungar Banner Jungar Banner is a banner of western Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, lying on the western bank of the Yellow River and bordering the provinces of Shanxi to the southeast and Shaanxi to the southwest. It is under the administration of Ordos City.-References:*...
|
准格尔旗 |
Zhǔngé'ěr Qí |
270,000 |
7,535 |
36 |
| 4 |
Otog Front Banner Otog Front Banner is a banner of southwestern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, bordering Ningxia to the southwest and Shaanxi province to the southeast. It is under the administration of Ordos City.-References:...
|
鄂托克前旗 |
Ètuōkè Qián Qí |
70,000 |
12,318 |
6 |
| 5 |
Otog Banner Otog Banner is a county of southwestern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Ordos City, and borders Otog Front Banner to the southwest and Uxin Banner to the southeast.-References:*...
|
鄂托克旗 |
Ètuōkè Qí |
90,000 |
20,064 |
4 |
| 6 |
Hanggin Banner Hanggin Banner is a banner in the southwest of Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, bordering Dalad Banner to the east, Otog Banner to the southwest, and Bayan Nur to the north. It is under the administration of Ordos City.-References:*...
|
杭锦旗 |
Hángjǐn Qí |
130,000 |
18,903 |
7 |
| 7 |
Uxin Banner Uxin Banner is a banner in the southwest of Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, bounded to the south by Shaanxi province. It borders the banners of Ejin Horo to the northeast, Hanggin to the north, Otog to the northwest, and Otog Front to the southwest. It is under the administration of...
|
乌审旗 |
Wūshěn Qí |
100,000 |
11,645 |
9 |
| 8 |
Ejin Horo Banner Ejin Horo Banner, also written as Ejin Horo Qi , is a banner under the administration of Ordos City, in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China...
|
伊金霍洛旗 |
Yījīnhuòluò Qí |
140,000 |
5,958 |
23 |
Kangbashi New Area, Empty Real Estate Development
A large, and largely uninhabited urban real estate development has been constructed 25 km. from the city of
DongshengDongsheng District is a District and the seat of Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It has a district population of 230,579, with 162,317 in the urban area. The district is predominantly Han Chinese, but has a significant Mongol minority....
. Intended to house a million people, it remains largely uninhabited. Intended to have 300,000 residents by 2010, government figures claimed it had 28,000, which the New York Times is skeptical of. It has been the subject of several well publicized articles, some profusely illustrated. The
Daily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
has documented Ordos/Kangbashi and other similar urban developments in China.
Demographics
In the 2000 census, there were 1,369,766 inhabitants:
| ethnic group |
population |
share |
HanHan Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
|
1,207,971 |
88.19% |
MongolsMongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
|
155,845 |
11.38% |
ManchuThe Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
|
2,905 |
0.21% |
HuiThe Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
|
1,861 |
0.14% |
| Tibetans |
1,023 |
0.07% |
See also
- Ordos culture
The Ordos culture comprises the period from Upper Paleolithic to the late Bronze age at the Ordos Desert, in the south of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China...
- Ordos International Circuit
Ordos International Circuit, built in 2010, is a motorsport facility located in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, China. It hosted a round of the China Touring Car Championship, Scirocco Cup China and Superleague Formula in 2010...
- New South China Mall and Chenggong
Chenggong County is a county under the jurisdiction of Kunming Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China.Chenggong is the chief zone for the expansion of the city of Kunming, 20 minute drive away – it is the site of the new Kunming Wujiaba International Airport, and new campuses for Yunnan University and...
, examples of other underused developments
- List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population
- List of cities in the People's Republic of China by GDP per capita
External links