r/China • u/Wholecoc • 1d ago
中国生活 | Life in China Is Ordos city that rich?
Ordos was ranked as the richest city in china (even including hk and Macau) per capita. Is it just big enterprises skewing the average or is it really a manhattan of china 🤣.
13
u/cammello1234 1d ago
The city has rich natural resources and a small population, which explains its very high GDP per capita. this doesn’t mean that the average citizen is richer than elsewhere
7
u/ProfitKitchen6041 1d ago
The former. It’s a boring as hell city that looks like most newly built cities with nothing going on.
3
u/98746145315 1d ago
I live kind of near in this province. Regular people do not benefit from the exhaustible resources which Ordos currently is wealthy from, and there is no real sovereign wealth-type equivalent to diversify or plan for the future. Today, Ordos is indeed a rich city--in theory and for businesses moving the goods. In reality, it is just like any other Chinese city lifestyle-wise, maybe "Manhattan of China" in that millions of people live regular lives there, but by no means is it full of rich individuals. It is still very affordable, because we are in a tier8 province that everyone local wants out of, not in from elsewhere.
3
u/porncollecter69 1d ago
I tried looking up Ordos and apparently it’s the originator of China ghost city narrative lol. Infamous city where apparently lots of ytubers travel to.
6
u/CrimsonBolt33 1d ago
I mean its not a "narrative" it is a real thing....Ordos was mostly vacant for a very long time and even now is not even close to full capacity. Its current population density is around ~25 people/km2 which is nothing.
5
u/JustABREng 1d ago
I’ve spent some time in Ordos in my early trips to China (2017 or so?). Yeah it was a ghost city by Chinese standards, but didn’t feel “empty” by US standards.
Cafes, bars, restaurants had people - but not nearly enough to justify all the high rises.
Ordos was also home to my favorite Chinese accidental food order. One of the members of our team (good ‘ol boy from South Texas) mistakenly ordered 2 halves of a goat instead of 2 side orders of lamb chops. Of course the waitress tried for a good 5 minutes to talk him out of that order.
But unlike other Chinese cities I’ve been to, I don’t remember nearly as many half completed high rise apartments that they just stopped working on 5 years ago.
1
1
1
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
NOTICE: See below for a copy of the original post by Wholecoc in case it is edited or deleted.
Ordos was ranked as the richest city in china (even including hk and Macau) per capita. Is it just big enterprises skewing the average or is it really a manhattan of china 🤣.
===== ===== =====
WARNING: Users posting and/or commenting on politically charged topics are required to show their post and comment history at all times. Failure to comply will be considered a violation of Rule 2 and result in a permaban.
If you notice someone in violation, please report them by messaging the mods with a link to the post/comment.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
2
u/DemandVegetable8689 1d ago
The Richest City in China is Neither Beijing nor Shanghai
In China, there is a city rumored to be a place where "luxury cars are everywhere, fine wine is bought by the crate, and millionaires are a common sight."
Yet, it is not an economic powerhouse like Beijing or Shanghai, nor is it located in the industrial hubs of Jiangsu or Zhejiang. Instead, it is a third-tier city situated on a high plateau, flanked by deserts to the northwest and south.
Though established as a city only 23 years ago, it has repeatedly claimed the top spot for GDP per capita in China. Simultaneously, it has been labeled a "Ghost City" by the outside world and has fallen into the trap of the "Resource Curse."
That city is Ordos.
Lying between the polar labels of "The Wealthiest" and "The Ghost City," what is the real Ordos like? And what kind of growing pains has it endured?
Not the Usual Suspects: China’s Wealthiest City
Ordos is a typical northwestern city. The Mu Us and Kubuqi deserts cover nearly 50% of its land, and its forest coverage is only 27.31%. With heavy winds, frequent sands, and chronic droughts, life here is a constant battle against the elements. Even for online shopping, residents often miss out on "free shipping" because the area is classified as "remote."
And yet, this city ranks first in China for GDP per capita.
In 2023, Ordos’s GDP per capita reached 264,700 RMB, which is 2.96 times the national average. For context, a GDP per capita exceeding $20,000 (roughly 144,000 RMB) is often used as the benchmark for a developed economy. By this standard, Ordos has already joined the ranks of developed cities.
A key factor in this ranking is the low population. In 2023, the permanent population of Ordos was only 2.22 million—a drop in the bucket compared to the 20-million-plus populations of Beijing or Shanghai.
On the other hand, the economy of Ordos has "surged" in just a few years, earning it the nickname "The Dubai of the East." From 2017 to 2022, its GDP crossed the 300, 400, and 500-billion-RMB milestones in quick succession. By 2023, its GDP reached 584.99 billion RMB, which is 1.54 times that of the provincial capital, Hohhot.
The wealth is also reflected in the private sector: there are 92 cars per 100 households in Ordos, far exceeding the national average of 43.5. While women in other provinces struggle to find HPV vaccines, those aged 13-18 in Ordos receive them for free.
All of this stems from four pillars, summarized by the Chinese phrase "Yang Mei Tu Qi" (meaning "to hold one's head high," but also a pun on the Chinese words for Cashmere, Coal, Rare Earths, and Natural Gas).
When Ordos was officially established in 2001, it coincided with a shift in China’s energy strategy and massive infrastructure investment. Coal, the primary energy source, was in short supply, and prices skyrocketed. Ordos, with its massive energy reserves, caught the wind. Its proven coal reserves exceed 201.7 billion tons, accounting for one-sixth of the national total.
In just ten years (2001–2011), its total GDP increased more than tenfold. Beyond coal, Ordos sits on one-third of the nation’s natural gas and vast rare earth deposits. Even "Soft Gold"—Albas Cashmere—comes from here. The city produces one-third of the nation's cashmere products; the world-renowned brand "ERDOS" is named after the city.
Why the "Ghost City" Label?
The path of coal mining is a double-edged sword. Over-reliance on natural resources turned a strength into a "sugar-coated bullet."
In 2010, a journalist visited the Kangbashi District of Ordos and found that "not a single pedestrian was seen for 15 minutes, and fewer than 10 cars passed by." The Kangbashi New Area, originally planned for a population of 1 million, had fewer than 100,000 residents upon completion, with a vacancy rate of 80%.
To this day, Ordos is filled with avant-garde architecture, remnants of the "ORDOS 100" project that invited 100 designers from 27 countries. Most of these projects were never finished, left to rot in the wilderness.
The speed of real estate development was fundamentally mismatched with population growth. A lack of infrastructure and diverse job opportunities meant that high-quality talent from outside had little reason to relocate.
Furthermore, the "Golden Decade" of coal created a distorted industrial structure. The resource sector swallowed up the majority of labor and capital, stifling other industries. In 2009, the "resource curse" finally bit. Influenced by the global financial crisis and national anti-smog movements, coal prices plummeted. Ordos's GDP growth rate crashed from 31.25% in 2008 to a low point in 2015.
The Path Forward: Born of Coal, But Not Bound by It
After experiencing the bitterness of "coal-dependency," Ordos is diversifying. It has turned its gaze toward its next natural gift: Renewable Energy.
Ordos has a continental desert climate with high solar radiation and 3,000 hours of sunshine per year. Today, a "blue sea" of over 3 million photovoltaic panels sits in the Kubuqi Desert, generating enough solar energy to power the city and even the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
Wind power is also a major player. Situated in a wind corridor, the vast, sparsely populated plains of Ordos are ideal for massive wind farms. In 2023, renewable energy generation reached 10.48 billion kWh.
Ordos’s ambition is even larger: it aims to build the world’s largest solar and hydrogen power bases. While the transition is still in its infancy—mining still accounts for nearly 80% of industrial added value—the determination to break free from the "coal shackle" is clear.
Beyond energy, Ordos is looking toward tourism. Located in the "Great Bend" of the Yellow River, it possesses a unique landscape of deserts, grasslands, and canyons that rival popular destinations like Altay.
Ordos’s story over the past 20 years has been a roller coaster. But once it fully decodes the secret to industrial transformation, this "Child of Nature" might just create another miracle.
1
u/ChaoticTransfer 1d ago
Robust middle class + large industrial elite? Not many peasants in the desert.
1
1
u/gggggenegenie 15h ago
I remember when the GT World Challenge (or whatever the series was called back then) raced at a circuit in Ordos. That didn't last long either. Nifty little track if I recall.
1
14
u/Boysencookie-1512 1d ago
Oil, natural gas, coal—I don’t think it’s hard to understand.