Only when the land is green can it be ageless. Ordos is a colorful "palette", 
where the four seasons alternate, and hosts of trees and flowers grow. The city 
forms one combined garden. Moving through varied scenery, the importance of 
"greenness" can be seen everywhere. In Ordos, to say "our city is like a 
garden" is no longer just a dream, or a line from a song.

But 70 years ago, the Yikezhao League, as it was then known, was a remote 
backwater, poor and desolate, and there was hardly any greenery to be seen. The 
city of the Six Banners and One County covered an area of less than 20 square 
kilometers, and there were almost no towns. Dongsheng County, where the 
administrative office of the League was situated, had an area of only 0.25 
square kilometers and a population of fewer than 20,000 people.

The last 70 years have triggered Ordos' ambition to create a green home. The 
once small northwestern city is developing into a modern, highly livable 
"garden city" with all necessary amenities and beautiful surroundings. After 
entering the 10th Five-Year Plan, Ordos has firmly grasped the great 
opportunities of the Western Development program, replacing leagues with 
cities, and creating the Hulunbuir-Ordos-Baotou metropolitan area as a new 
symbol of urbanism: the Ordos Model. In 2004, on land previously destroyed by 
sand, Ordos built its own "new" city: Kangbashi, the first city in China to 
feature a 4A-grade scenic spot. With seven themed squares, four themed parks, 
two museums, one ancient site, one urban landscape lake, six cultural 
buildings, four tourist areas, and 26 tourist attractions including Ike Ovoo, 
it has become the country's first "Environmental Art Demonstration Pilot City".

In accordance with the strategic concept of building "one city, two districts, 
and three groups", Dongsheng West, Kangbashi District, and A'zhen have been 
developed in turn, and the area of Dongkangyi has been expanded from the 
original 25 square kilometers to its current 164 square kilometers. The 
population of Dongkangyi has increased from fewer than 80,000 at the beginning 
of the founding of the People's Republic of China to 870,000 today.

30% of urban development depends on construction and 70% on management. 
Adhering to a people-oriented development philosophy, Ordos has always worked 
hard to innovate urban management methods. The city has focused on improving 
its ability for intelligent institutionalization, standardization, and 
socialization, and has promoted a form of urban management which is 
full-coverage, complete, and all-weather. Ordos is dedicated to building an 
orderly and safe urban management system with clear powers and 
responsibilities, one which is service-oriented, with optimized management and 
high law enforcement standards. The city is dedicated to continuously meeting 
the needs of the people for a better life. As city management becomes more and 
more refined, the area has achieved high quality in both "appearance" and 
"temperament".

Today, Ordos is a famous modern city full of vitality.

Ordos is "growing taller" -- the high-rise buildings in the town center have 
sprung up like mushrooms. Each building makes the city look "taller". Beautiful 
rural construction projects decorate the countryside where houses stand neatly 
in rows. Ordos is "faster", with direct flights to and from South Korea, 
Vietnam, Thailand, Russia and other countries. The airport operates a total of 
50 routes to 56 cities throughout the year. Ordos has become more "beautiful", 
gaining plaudits such as National Civilized City, National Green Model City, 
National Advanced Entity for Desertification Control, National Advanced 
Greening Entity, National Sanitary City, Outstanding Domestic Tourist City, 
National Garden City, and National Forest City, all of which bear witness to 
the "greenness" and "beauty" of Ordos.

Source: Ordos Municipal Government