Ordos: That's where we're off to next!
Is there anywhere in the world's most populous nation where there is absolutely no one? As it turns out, yes, there is! In the southwestern part of the Inner Mongolia region lies the spanking new and ultra-modern Ordos City (鄂尔多斯), which government officials have raised from the desert in just five years with tonnes of public money. The only problem is, nobody's moved in from the old Ordos City, located just 30 kilometres away. As Melissa Chan of Al-Jazeera finds out, building and construction just happens to be the easiest way for government officials to bloat up GDP statistics. If you're tired of the hustle and bustle of Shanghai and sick of your tiny apartment here, maybe your search for lebensraum will take you up north to Ordos. Life there is beautiful, if Ordos officials are to be believed. They claim that the city now has China's second highest per capita income, after Shanghai. Everything is going to be such a bargain there! And, with so few neighbours around you, you could probably pump up the music in your own apartment till the wee hours of the morning and not get a single visit from the police!
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