--- --- * [World](/section/world/) * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) # Ordos, China: A Modern Ghost Town by [TIME](/author/time/) Mar 25, 2010 4:00 AM CUT by [TIME](/author/time/) Mar 25, 2010 4:00 AM CUT Meant as home for one million people, the Kangbashi district remains nearly empty five years after construction beganPhotographs by Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### All Quiet  The Kangbashi district began as a public-works project in Ordos, a wealthy coal-mining town in Inner Mongolia. The area is filled with office towers, administrative centers, government buildings, museums, theaters and sports fields—not to mention acre on acre of subdivisions overflowing with middle-class duplexes and bungalows. The only problem: the district was originally designed to house, support and entertain 1 million people, yet hardly anyone lives there. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### On the Rise  Construction projects in Kangbashi continue despite the lack of occupancy. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### In Medias Res  An old man pushes a cart across a road segregating finished apartments and apartments still under construction. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### Unfinished  Workers construct a plaza for un-present residents of an apartment complex. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### From a Distance  Kangbashi awaits residents to bring the district, meant for a population the size of San Diego, California, to life. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### Empty  Though many of the properties in Kangbashi have been sold and a million people were projected to be living in Kangbashi by 2010, the city is still empty. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### Vacant  Mostly empty apartment buildings in Kangbashi, a half hour down the road is Dongsheng, where most of Ordos' 1.5 million resident call home. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### Wealth and Knowledge  A pair of workers tidy up outside the public library. The city boasts the second highest per-capita income, behind to Shanghai but ahead of Beijing. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### Treasure Palace  Workers carry pieces of foam up the stairs of the Ordos Museum, which is still under construction. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### Monument  A pedestrian walks behind a giant sculpture of two horses in Kangbashi's Linyinlu Square. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### Light Traffic  Mostly empty apartment buildings stand in the distance. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### No Sale  A pedestrian walks past a mostly unoccupied commercial area. Almost no businesses have moved into the new district. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME ### Eerie Quiet  Empty streets remain empty even during the morning commute. Michael Christopher Brown for TIME Ordos, China: A Modern Ghost Town - Photo Essays - TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7083827/ordos-china-a-modern-ghost-town/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7083827/ordos-china-a-modern-ghost-town/"},"headline":"Ordos, China: A Modern Ghost Town","datePublished":"2010-03-25T04:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T10:46:16.852Z","description":"Meant as home for one million people, the Kangbashi district remains nearly empty five years after construction beganPhotographs by Michael Christopher Brown for TIME","url":"https://time.com/archive/7083827/ordos-china-a-modern-ghost-town/","keywords":["LightBox"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME","url":"https://time.com/author/time/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7083827/ordos-china-a-modern-ghost-town/","name":"Ordos, China: A Modern Ghost Town"}}]}] ```