Nestled by the Yellow River, Ordos shines like a bright pearl. Nurtured by the river and wisdom of the locals, the city radiates with a  long and splendid city history filled with story after story, each chapter an exciting testament to its unique development.

Geography

Sitting in the southwest of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and surrounded by the Yellow River on three sides, it is close to the Great Wall, with Shanxi, Shaanxi provinces and Ningxia Hui autonomous region in the south. "Ordos" literally translates to "numerous palaces" in Mongolian language. With two national natural conservation areas, the whole city covers an area of 87,000 square kilometers, featuring hilly regions to the east, plain and plateau land to the west, Maowusu desert to the south, and Kubuqi desert and plain terrain to the north. Summer temperatures average 21 C, and winters see a drop to -6.6 C. Annual precipitation settles at 341 millimeters, and Ordos generally enjoys superior weather conditions throughout the year.

Abundant resources

Ordos benefits from an abundance of resources, with more than 50 kinds of minerals. Local confirmed coal reserves stand at 201.7 billion tons, accounting for one sixth of total reserves across the country and half of all in Inner Mongolia. Gross coal reserves are estimated to be around 1 trillion tons. Local coal is of great quality, with low ash, sulfur and phosphorous content and higher calorific power. Proven natural gas reserves stand at 801.7 billion cubic meters, accounting for one third of nationwide reserves. One third of China's Alpine pure-white cashmere, known as fiber gem and soft gold, comes from Ordos. Kaolin, trona, salt, Glauber's salt, gypsum, limestone, purple clay and other resources are all in huge reserves in Ordos. The cultivated land area stands at 6.85 million mu (0.47 million hectares), including 4.5 million mu of irrigated land. Grassland covers an area of 100.69 million mu, of which 90 million mu can be utilized.

Economic and social development

The city of Ordos in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region released its government work report for 2023 at the third session of the fifth Ordos municipal people's congress on Jan 17, outlining the following highlights.

In 2023, the city's GDP grew by 6.3 percent, with its general public budget revenue increasing by 8 percent, surpassing 90 billion yuan ($12.33 billion) for the first time.

The city's per capita disposable income for urban and rural residents increased by 5 percent and 7 percent, respectively. And its fixed asset investment grew by 27 percent, leading the region in growth. Ordos has maintained a fixed asset growth rate of over 25 percent for 25 consecutive months.

Also, the city's total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 9 percent, the highest in 11 years.

The city created 33,000 new urban jobs in 2023, and its grain production exceeded 4.3 billion kilograms.

The city's key development targets for 2024 include a GDP growth of over 6 percent, synchronized growth of residents' income with economic growth, and a 5.5 percent increase in industrial added-value output. Other goals are a 15 percent or more increase in fixed asset investment, a 7 percent increase in total retail sales of consumer goods, and a registered urban unemployment rate of no more than 4 percent.