Ordos City

Ordos is described by western media as the poster child of excess modern Chinese city planning. Monumental architectures line the center axis flanked by identical apartment blocks built by the dozens. Ordos is referred to internationally as a "Ghost City" as the new city was almost without any human activity when first built in 2010. Several years later there is a population of 100,000 and life on the streets during the day but still quiet at night, in contrast to Dongsheng, a still bustling 4th tier Chinese city.
Ordos (Kangbashi) is bounded by the Wulan Mulun River to its south. On the opposite bank of this river is the town of Altan Xire (阿勒腾席热镇), the county seat of Ejin Horo Banner and the central business district extension of Kangbashi. While the architecture in Altan Xire is not as sleek as the futuristic civic buildings in Kangbashi, the highly urbanized town hosts an impressive complex of skyscrapers along the river and several other tall commercial and residential high rises throughout the town. These tall buildings all emanate a flashing electric light show at night, as do the buildings in Kangbashi.
Since the name "Ordos" can refer to both the new city and the prefecture whose centre is actually the old city, Dongsheng, things can get really confusing. The new city of Ordos is also referred to as Kangbashi New Area 康巴什新区. Mentioning Kangbashi can remove a lot of the ambiguity when communicating with locals.

By plane

• Ordos Ejin Horo Airporthas daily connections with Beijing (5x) and Shanghai (2x) and several other cities including Xi'an (4x).

Two other airports that are relatively close by are Baotou Airport (142 km to the north) and Yulin Yuyang Airport (169 km to the south).
There is a shuttle from the airport that runs at least once every hour, dropping passengers off at Altan Xire town (¥10), Ordos (Kangbashi) (¥15), and Dongsheng.
For getting to the airport, from the south bus station of Dongsheng, the first shuttle starts at 05:00 and takes 1 hour. The next shuttle departs at 06:00 and thereafter departures leave in 45-minute intervals until the last one at 20:15.

By train

DongshengXi 东胜西 station is a modern station between Dongsheng and Kangbashi, but over 20 km from both. Eerduosi 鄂尔多斯 station is south of Kangbashi and is closer than DongshengXi. From either station:

• Baotou - takes 2 hours.
• Yinchuan - takes 7 hours.
• Beijing - takes 14 to 15 hours; two daily trains to Beijing West Railway Station.

By bus

• Baotou - takes about 3 hours.
• Hohhot - takes about 5 hours.
• Yulin - takes about 6 hours.

Bus line K22 runs between the center of Ordos (Kangbashi) to the center of Dongsheng. In Ordos first K22 bus from 06:30 to last departure at 18:50. Bus service between cities ends early so civil servants aren't too comfortable commuting from Dongsheng, dealing a gentle reminder by city planners for them to move to Ordos (Kangbashi).
Taxis are numerous in Dongsheng, Ordos (Kangbashi), and Altan Xire town. Flag drop is ¥7 but fares accumulate fast for long distance rides. It costs over ¥80 to go from Ordos (Kangbashi) to Dongsheng.

• XiangshawanBiggest draw for tourism in the region as one of the four AAAAA rated tourist sites in the province (only other 5A site in Ordos prefecture is the Mausoleum of Genghis Khan) and the most popular desert sightseeing destination in Inner Mongolia. The sand dune scenery is nice and the lotus shaped hotel set in the desert is eye catching but the grounds have been turned into an amusement park and family entertainment complex including bumper cars for the kids, camel rides for the whole family to the next stage, a lot of live performances, etc. It might be tempting to book a day long tour package just for the hotel pickup and direct transportation but spending the entire day at this amusement park without kids will be underwhelming.

• Kangbashi Tourist AreaThe flashy city center of Ordos (Kangbashi) is a ceremonial mall bounded by the parallel Wenhua West Road and Wenhua East Road. There are Genghis Khan and Mongol warrior monuments, civic art, and beautiful contemporary architecture including most notably the Ordos Museum. This ceremonial mall is about 3km in length, bound in the south by the Wulan Mulun River and terminates in the north at the Ordos People's Government. It can be covered on foot in a single day.

• Ordos MuseumThe architectural showpiece of Ordos. Three well done exhibits: paleontological history of the area; a collection of contemporary art inspired by the area's scenery; and the local area's connections to Genghis Khan and history through the dynasties.

• Mausoleum of Genghis Khan

• Ordos International Circuit

• Hu Neng Commercial Mall

  address: Adjacent to the Kangbashi Food Plaza
  Largely empty mall; on the first floor there is a souvenir shop selling provincial jewelry, ethnic dresses, etc.

• CashmereThis is the wholesale center of the cashmere business in China and the world, so prices should be cheap.

• Kangbashi Food PlazaSeveral floors of restaurants and a second floor mall-style food court. A shop on the first floor sells provincial goodies including goat milk powder and spirits infused with milk.

• Tractor Club

  address: 2/F, Ordos Tieniu Phoenix Hotel
  Cigar lounge and bar. Maybe some coal mining barons hang out here.

Most hotels are located in the Dongsheng District. Despite the drastic buildup, Ordos (Kangbashi) has only about 4 business class hotels. Altan Xire town has several large business class hotels, which can be 30% cheaper than the options in Ordos (Kangbashi) or Dongsheng.

Dongsheng

• Tianjiao Hotel

  phone: +86 477 8333888
  address: 102 South Dalate Road, Dongsheng District

• Ordos Tieniu Phoenix Hotel

  phone: +86 477 8311111
  address: Yingbin Road (Yingbin Lu)
  Located right in the center of Dongsheng District; near the airport shuttle

Kangbashi

• Hengxin Hotel

  phone: +86 477 8398888
  address: North of 7th Xiwei Road, Kangbashi District
  Located in the city center of Ordos (Kangbashi); rated as a 4-star but quality worthy of only 3 stars.

Altan Xire

• Longkai International Hotel

  phone: +86 477 2235888
  address: Intersection of Tonggelang North Road and Zhasake Street, Altan Xire, Ejin Horo Banner
  Away from river bank but good value, cheaper than comparable options in Ordos (Kangbashi) or Dongsheng; major appeal is close distance to airport, only 20 minutes away.