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KANGBASHI: THE RICHEST ‘GHOST ’ IN ?

Uchralt Otede

N 2010, Time Magazine sardonically The decision to build Kangbashi Ireported that Kangbashi, in Ordos, on what had been a rural vil- Inner , is ‘a new Chinese lage was made after Ordos’s sudden that, apart from people, has ascent to wealth in 2004. Ordos’s pros- everything’.13 Seven years later, perity comes from its plentiful reserves Kangbashi is still working hard to of energy and mineral resources. It has attract residents. On 20 April 2017, a one-sixth of the country’s total re- reporter for the Daily serves, its proven natural gas reserves 内蒙古日报, Hao Xuelian 郝雪莲, are equivalent to one-third of the coun- wrote that as a gift to Inner Mongolia try’s total, and its proven rare earth Autonomous on its seventieth and kaolin deposits account for half anniversary, the local government of of total domestic reserves. These rich Ordos has commenced a Steppe Silk underground resources have propelled Road Cultural Scenic Area project an economic growth rate of nearly thir- 草原丝路文化景区项目 in Kangbashi ty per cent, with urban development district. This two-billion yuan project to match. As Lian Ji 连辑, the deputy will occupy 335 hectares of what is chairman of the Inner Mongolian gov- now a green park, and will promote ernment, proclaimed in 2009: ‘China the development of tourism in the has the fastest growing economy in the Kangbashi district.14 world, Inner Mongolia has the fastest CHINA STORY YEARBOOK Kangbashi: The Richest ‘Ghost Town’ in China? 79 78 2017 Uchralt Otede 2016 to theHurunReport’s China Rich List ofsets over RMB10 million.According at least 100,000 individuals with as RMB100 million, lived in Ordos, as did individuals, with assets in excess of cated that more than 7,000 wealthy Investment Survey Report In 2011,theChinesePrivate Capital residents thanany othercityinChina. 本投资调研报告 Inner Mongolia’. has thefastest growing economy in growing economy in China, and Ordos Ordos, was located thirtykilometres more accessto waterthan resources ing boom. The new district, which had outsiders flocking to Ordos and its min- in 2003to accommodate thenumber of ingly, hasmore‘nouveau riche’ was RMB227,700.Ordos,notsurpris yuan to Ordos.In2016,percapitaGDP bringing in around a quarter of a billion are mined by around 240 enterprises, close to half a billion tonnes of coal ofsource wealthEach year, inOrdos. on thelist,fifteen were from Ordos. entrepreneurs from InnerMongolia Go High Investment firm capital private and Development of HousingandUrban–RuralMinistry Photo: AlanLeu,Flickr Kangbashi panorama Construction of Kangbashi began Coal minesarethe largest single 胡润百富榜 , jointly issued by the 15 , of the twenty-nine

高和投资 中国民间资 , indi 土豪 16

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The flourishing of private lending has lending private of flourishing The for massive development projects. the city government to continue itssupport for difficult it making and major blow toindustrial base Ordos’s began shrinkingin2009,dealing a a report in 2015. tire constructionarea,accordingto en- the district’s of cent per forty-five ofmillion squaremetres them,fully five approximately buildings: finished to this sense were the rows of half- tation of being a ghost town. Adding at night. Kangbashi gained the repu- residential buildings entirely dark were virtually empty, and most of the Apart from cleaners,theroads street lion; it seemed empty and desolate. in a city that had been built for a mil- years fewer than 30,000 people lived and otherconvenience stores. markets, clothing shops,department Kangbashi lacked amenitieslike super - the new one by car, complaining that to live intheoldcityandcommute to many officials and residents continued district greater vitality. Nevertheless, Kangbashi in the hope of giving the jor agencies, schools,and hospitals to government of Ordos moved its ma- Three years after the itsconstruction, away from theoldcity/town centre. As aconsequence,in the early 17 The coal industry The coal industry also been problematic, as declining bashi District Bureau of Housing and profits have failed to meet heavy in- Construction, a total of 2,098 homes terest burdens — rupturing the capital were sold throughout the district in chain and leaving no money to finish 2016, and another 1,700 homes had building projects. been sold as of 20 June 2017.18 The As a partial solution, in recent local government has also recently years the local government of Ordos redrawn the boundaries of Kangbashi has built thirty-four schools of various district to include only its core urban types; Kangbashi even has a branch of area, leaving out the area on the south Normal University. The estab- bank of the Ulaanmuren River, where lishment of top-ranking elementary a large number of the empty residen- and middle schools has induced many tial buildings are located. parents to buy homes nearby. In addi- According to the latest govern- tion, four city-level hospitals, includ- ment report of Kangbashi district, ing Ordos Central Hospital and Ordos the population of the district reached Maternal and Child Health Hospital, 153,000, with an annual increase have opened. To promote the purchase of thirty-two per cent by the end of of new homes in Kangbashi District, 2016.19 The original planned popula- the local government has also issued tion of the district was one million — housing vouchers to those willing to suggesting that it may well resemble relocate from Ordos. According to Liu the country’s richest ghost town for Hai’e 刘海娥, an employee of the Kang- some time to come.

Housing vouchers Photo: Alan Leu, Flickr This text is taken from China Story Yearbook 2017: Prosperity, edited by Jane Golley and Linda Jaivin, published 2018 by ANU Press, The Australian National University, Canberra, .

doi.org/10.22459/CSY.04.2018.02C