Ordos, a city in the desert, mixes tradition and luxury

If you want to experience both China's ancient nomadic traditions and the modernization that has followed by the country's rapid economic development, Ordos is the city that you should not miss.

Ordos, whose name literally means "numerous palaces", is a megacity known in China for its wealth and historical sites. It is also known as a "ghost city" because there are many vacant skyscrapers and dark residential communities with few lights on at night because of the real estate bubble and the once prosperous coal economy.

The city, which is located in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has spent more than 20 years in controlling sand and managed to create an oasis out of the desert. It has also preserved well the Mongol nomadic culture and the mausoleum of Genghis Khan, the 13th-century conqueror.