Ordos Travel Guide

Chinese Name: 鄂尔多斯 (è ěr duō sī)
Population: 2,078,400
Area: 86,752 square kilometers (33,495 square miles)
Location: in the southwest of Inner Mongolia, north China
Administrative Division: 2 districts (Dongsheng, Kangbashi); 7 banners (Dalad Banner, Junggar Banner, Otog Front Banner, Otog Banner, Hangjin Banner, Uxen Banner, Ejin Horo Banner)
Area Code: 0477
Zip Code: 017000
GDP (2018): CNY 376.32 billion (USD 56.87 billion)
Nationalities: Mongol, Han, Hui, Man, Chaoxian

Lying in the southwest of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Ordos is encircled by the Yellow River in the north, the west and the east. It is separated from Shaanxi and Shanxi in the south by the Great Wall. Together with Hohhot and Baotou, the three cities constitute the economic triangle of this region. Ordos, which means many palaces in Mongolian, has the strongest economic strength in Inner Mongolia. China's largest modern coal chemical industry base is situated here and Ordos’s output of cashmere products accounts for about one-third of the whole country.

Here, you can see the vast Kubuqi Desert, or ride horses, watch local performances, and taste the freshest roasted whole sheep in the yurt in the Ordos Grassland. The famous Genghis Khan's Mausoleum offers you a chance to know about Genghis Khan’s stories and experience the grand and solemn Genghis Khan ceremony. The spectacular Kangbashi music fountain from 20:00 to 21:00 in the evening will definitely bring your Ordos day trip to a climax. It is one of the largest musical fountains in the world whose maximum spray height can reach 209 meters (686 feet).

Ordos Attractions - Things to Do

Genghis Khan's Mausoleum

The majestic mausoleum is made up of six halls and corridors, and the five-meter-tall (16-foot-tall) statue of Genghis Khan stands at the entrance to the mausoleum. It is the first-class tourist resource of Inner Mongolia. In the seventeenth day of the third lunar month, celebrations will be held to commemorate this great leader, and this day is the most ceremonious and joyous day in the mausoleum. 
 

Singing Sand Ravine

It is a mega desert resort in east Kubuqi Desert. There are five distinctive holiday villages with about 100 entertainment activities, such as sand-sliding, desert motorcycle, and camel-riding.
 
 Other Scenic Spots: Engbei Ecological Tourist area, Ordos Relict Gull Nature Reserve

How to Get to Beijing, Hohhot & Baotou from Ordos

The Ordos Airport is 38 kilometers (24 miles) from the Dongsheng District, adjacent to the Mausoleum of Genghis Khan. The airport has recently opened flight to Beijing once a day with one hour's ride. Ordos is 240 kilometers (149 miles) from Hohhot, and train, flight and long-distance buses are all available; it is no more than 2 hours' ride to Baotou by bullet train.

Ordos belongs to typical temperate continental climate with clear four seasons and abundant sunshine. The rainfall is infrequent and mainly concentrates on the period between July and September. Spring is the season often blowing sand and dust storm.
 
 When to Go: Summer and autumn are the best seasons to pay a visit for the weather is cool and the dust storm is slight.