Ordos City, Prefecture-level city in Inner Mongolia, China
Ordos is a prefecture-level city in Inner Mongolia that sits on the Ordos Plateau and includes eight administrative districts spread across dry grasslands and semi-arid terrain. The different districts contain both older residential areas and newer zones built during the past two decades, with wide roads connecting them across the plateau.
The region changed from a Mongolian league territory into a prefecture-level city in 2001. This restructuring followed economic development driven by coal and natural gas extraction in the preceding decades.
The name derives from the Mongolian word for palaces, reflecting the mix of Han Chinese and Mongolian populations in the administrative region.
The city covers long distances, so travelers should plan time for journeys between different districts. Temperatures vary widely between hot summers and cold winters, making it wise to adjust clothing according to the season.
The Sarawusu River nearby has yielded evidence of human settlement from the Paleolithic era reaching back more than a hundred thousand years. These findings have made the region an important location for understanding early human cultures in East Asia.
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