What Is the Real Ordos Like?

a northwestern city renowned for its cashmere and coal

nothing more than livestock grazing and deep mining pits

(Aerial view of Ordos' colorful land, photographer: Ren Shiming)

(Piled-up quicksand and exposed rocks, photographer: Su Da)

(Salt lake in the Mu Us Sandy Land of Uxin Banner, photographer: Ren Shiming)

(Snowscape at Ordos Wengong Mangha National Desert Park, photographer: Ren Shiming)

(Hetao Plain, the Yellow River, and the Yin Mountains, photographer: Chen Jianfeng)

(Steeds under the sunset glow, photographer: Su Da)

This land of immense beauty speaks for itself

Magnificent, rugged, vibrant, and vast

(Topography and location of Ordos, map by Chen Jingyi/Planet Research Institute)

This is an open and expansive plateau

(Sunset in Ordos, image source: Visual China Group)

(Starry sky over the Kubuqi Desert, photographer: Huang Dengyi)

(Please view horizontally, grassland storm, photographer: Su Da)

(Gneiss rocks excavated from the Zhuozi Mountain area date back over 2 billion years, photographer: Su Da)

It has undergone countless geological movements

Geologists refer to it as a "craton"

Primeval tropical forests once blotted out the sky

(Dinosaur fossils displayed in a museum, image source: Visual China Group)

Buried and transformed over hundreds of millions of years

(Ordos Open-pit Coal Mine, image source @ Visual China)

The most active geology, the most abundant life, the most extreme environments

The surface is marked by deep and shallow gullies

An epic of Earth written in rock and soil

(Pisha Sandstone, photographer @ Guo Yu)

The movement of Earth's plates, reshaping the world

Only able to cause minor "damage" at its edges

(Distribution of recent earthquake epicenters in China, map by @ Chen Jingyi/Planet Research Institute)

(Distribution of Ordos and surrounding land blocks, map by @ Song Nan/Planet Research Institute)

Now at an elevation of 1100-1500 meters

(Please view horizontally, Zhuozishan Mountain, photographer @ Su Da)

Forming a massive "几"-shaped bend

(The Yellow River and the Ordos Plateau, map by @ Song Nan/Planet Research Institute)

Allowing the rugged Ordos to rise proudly

The Yellow River can only gaze upward longingly

(Ordos as land elevated above the Yellow River's water level, photographer @ Li Ping'an)

Featuring both an independent endorheic basin and

Areas encircled by the Yellow River basin

(Endorheic basin and Yellow River basin distribution, map by @ Song Nan/Planet Research Institute)

(Annual precipitation distribution in Ordos, mapped by Chen Jingyi/Planet Research Institute)

(Loess plateau hills and gullies in Ordos, photographed by Su Da)

(Please view horizontally, sheep herding on Ordos grassland, photographed by Su Da)

(Mu Us Sandy Land, the scar-like marks on the sand are vehicle tracks, photographed by Ren Shiming)

Where neither rain nor the Yellow River reaches

(Kubuqi Desert, photographed by Fan Hui)

(Kubuqi Desert and the Yellow River, photographed by Chen Jianfeng)

(Please view horizontally, Qixing Lake, photographed by Yang Xiao)

(Please view horizontally, Hongjiannao Lake, photographed by Ren Shiming)

(Distribution of closed drainage areas in Ordos, mapped by Song Nan/Planet Research Institute)

Truly at a loss with this rugged land

Ice, desert, grassland, wetlands, canyons

(The Yellow River, photographed by Chen Xiao)

Wherever it passes, life miraculously thrives

(The Yellow River at the border of Hetao Plain and Ordos, photographed by Chen Jianfeng)

(Please view horizontally, Juhe Wetland, photographed by Zhang Hongke)

(Coexistence of Kubuqi Desert and wetlands, photographed by Ye Changchun)

The increased sediment load in the middle reaches thereafter

(The foreground river is Heilai Gully, a primary tributary of the Yellow River, photographed by Chen Jianfeng)

Due to facing the fierce cold air from Siberia

(The Yellow River in Ordos enters the ice flood season, photographer: Zhang Shiyu)

(Heigela Bay, photographer: Li Qiong)

When clashing head-on with subsequent landmasses

(Please view horizontally, Qiankun Bend of the Yellow River, photographer: Li Ping'an)

(Laoniuwan, where the Great Wall meets the Yellow River, photographer: Cui Yongjiang)

The water storage impact of the Wanjiazhai Hydraulic Project

Some of the carried sediment settles

The turbid river also undergoes changes along its course

(Please view horizontally, Baozi Tower Grand Canyon, photographer: Xingying Bulili, mapping: Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

(Topographic sketch of Baozi Tower Canyon, mapping: Song Nan/Planet Research Institute)

(Wanjiazhai Hydro Project, photographer: Zhai Hongyu)

(Bridge over the Yellow River in Ordos, photographer: Chen Jianfeng)

(Niangniangtan, photographer: Zhang Hongke)

The Yellow River still reveals its untamed nature

Traversing 728 kilometers within Ordos

Home to over 1,500 species of wildlife

(Egrets in Ordos, photographer: Su Da)

One of the habitats suitable for their survival

The number of relic gulls here exceeds 16,000

Accounting for over 60% of the global population

(Relict Gulls breeding and nurturing at Hongjiannao, the last gull species discovered by scientists, image credit @ Visual China Group)

Namely, the "Ordos Man" (Hetao Man)

Giant ostrich, Ordos giant deer

Wild horses, wild asses, aurochs, woolly rhinoceros

In this vast, unobstructed expanse between heaven and earth

(Please view horizontally, the Salawusu site complex, where 45 species of ancient animal fossils have been discovered, including 11 bird species and 34 mammal species, photographer @ Zhu Jinhua)

As the earliest hunters on this great grassland

They wielded antler hammers and antler spears as weapons

Battling beasts many times stronger than themselves

Finally roasting their prey with fire

Residual ashes, burnt bones, and stone flakes

(Discovery site of Ordos Man fossils, photographer @ Zhu Jinhua)

Approximately 4200-3500 years ago

(Gold belt ornament with tiger-boar combat motif, photographers @ Liu Yanhui & Liu Yedao, graphics @ Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

(Round-carved double-goat ornament, photographers @ Liu Lu & Liu Yedao, graphics @ Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

(Silver hedgehog-shaped ornament, photographers @ Liu Gang & Liu Yedao, graphics @ Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

(Small tiger-coupling ornament, image credit @ Li Li & Ordos Museum, graphics @ Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

(Bronze mirror with camel-rider handle design, image credit @ Chen Guoxi & Ordos Museum, graphics @ Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

(Double-bird-pommeled bronze short sword, photographer @ Fu Hongchao, graphics @ Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

China's earliest surviving bronze short sword

(Golden Crown with Eagle Design, photographer @Artery Shadow, illustration by @Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

(Please view horizontally, a herdsman and horses on the grassland, photographer @Su Da)

(Changes in the northern boundary of China's farming-pastoral ecotone in different periods, illustration by @Song Nan/Planet Research Institute)

King Zhou's campaign against the Xianyun

all once entrenched in Ordos

further advancing into the heart of Ordos

and built one of China's earliest Great Walls here

(Warring States Period Great Wall, photographer @Guo Yu, illustration by @Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

and constructed an ancient "highway"

(Qin Straight Road, photographer @Guo Yu)

also becoming the "moat" of this land

all featuring the Qin Dynasty's extensive Great Wall

(Distribution of Qin Great Wall around Ordos, illustration by @Liu Zhipeng & Chen Jingyi/Planet Research Institute)

(from Jia Yi's "On the Faults of Qin")

"Then Meng Tian was sent north to build the Great Wall and guard the borders, driving the Xiongnu back seven hundred li. The barbarians dared not come south to pasture their horses, nor did the warriors dare to bend their bows in revenge."

(from "Records of the Grand Historian: Biography of General Wei and the Swift Cavalry")

"(Huo Qubing) performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Langjuxu... and reached the vast sea."

(Eastern Han bronze dragon-head stove, unearthed in Ordos City, collection of Inner Mongolia Museum, photographer @Liu Yedao)

(Tongwan City, image source @Esri Image Map)

as if recounting the tales of war and turmoil

By the Wuding riverside they lie, Bones of the men slain in the fray. A happy dream still haunts the wife: Her husband comes home safe one day.

while the Western Xia coexisted with the Song, Liao (Jin) dynasties

(Chenchuan Ancient City, established by the Tang Dynasty specifically for the migration of the Dangxiang people, who later founded the Western Xia Kingdom. Photographer: Ren Yuhao, Mapping: Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

The Mongolians' storm-like combat prowess

swept across the entire Eurasian continent in an instant

They marched southward through Ordos

and toppled multiple empires, including the Southern Song and Western Xia

(Dragon-head silver wine cup, embodying the style of the Yuan Dynasty. Image source: Ordos Museum, Mapping: Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

(Genghis Khan Mausoleum, Photographer: Guo Yu)

both bounded by the Great Wall, a symbol of agricultural civilization's frontier

becoming a unique and ambiguous existence

(Distribution of Ming Dynasty Great Wall around Ordos. Mapping: Liu Zhipeng, Chen Jingyi/Planet Research Institute)

The largest grotto temple complex in the northern grasslands

(Arzai Grottoes, Photographer: Guo Yu, Mapping: Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

With the opening of China's foreign trade exports

it quickly captured the international market and gained worldwide fame

(Herding sheep on barren land, Photographer: Su Da)

were finally able to be tapped at this time, benefiting the region

(Please swipe left or right to view. Distribution of coal mines and natural gas resources in Ordos. Mapping: Song Nan/Planet Research Institute)

One of China's largest open-pit mines

Filling approximately 1,500 train cargo compartments

Can be converted into about 200 million kilowatt-hours of electricity

(Heidaigou Open-Pit Mine, image source @Esri Image Map)

Its coal output is 56 million tons

Becoming China's first city with an annual coal production exceeding 100 million tons

Although industry is developing and cities are being built

It also led to shrinking water surfaces and disappearing lake islands

The relict gulls nesting here are nearly extinct

(A barren desert near the Yellow River, covered in flying sand and stones, photographer @Li Qiong)

Ordos mobilized almost the entire city's resources

To build flood diversion sluices and water diversion channels

(The Yellow River water coexisting with the desert, photographer @Su Da)

From late November to March of the following year

One side plagued by excess water, the other by arid deserts

After evaluation by relevant expert teams

The locals officially used ice floodwater to nourish the desert

A nearly 60-square-kilometer ecological wetland rapidly formed

In the heart of the Kubuqi Desert

Along with nearly 20 square kilometers of water surface

Over 20 plant species naturally regenerated and grew

More than 10 species of waterbirds inhabit here year-round

Villagers even farm crabs here for a living

(Crabs in the Kubuqi Desert, photographer: Cao Dunmei)

using wheat straw or stems of other plants

(Straw checkerboard, photographer: Su Da, graphics: Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

establishing the largest germplasm resource bank in western China

cold-, drought-, and salt-tolerant plants

also increased from 6.1% in 1980

to 26.91% in 2018

(Please view horizontally. The image shows the rehabilitated Kubuqi Desert. Besides human efforts, global warming and increased precipitation have greatly aided vegetation growth. Photographer: Su Da)

and can effectively block and reduce wind

(Solar panels and green plants, photographer: Su Da)

generating electricity on the panels, growing crops beneath them, and raising livestock between them

(Ducks under solar panels, image source: Visual China Group)

(Please view horizontally. Comparison between photovoltaic desert control and untreated land, photographer: Su Da)

(Comparison of Ordos remote sensing images, graphics: Song Nan/Planet Research Institute)

(Frequency of sandstorms, graphics: Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

(Farmland in the Mu Us Sandy Land, photographer: Ren Shiming)

Farms have also emerged due to sprinkler irrigation technology

placed on supermarket shelves thousands of kilometers away

(Circular potato fields in the Kubuqi Desert, shaped by the radius limits of sprinkler irrigation, photographer: Su Da)

(Please view horizontally, Yellow River Bridge, photographer: Ye Changchun)

(Baoshen Railway, photographer: Yang Cheng)

Provincial Highway 215, known as the "Desert-Crossing Road"

(Please view horizontally, the Desert-Crossing Road, photographer: Su Da)

(Off-road sightseeing vehicles deep in the Xiangshawan Scenic Area of Ordos, photographer: Chen Yan)

(Lotus Hotel in the Kubuqi Desert, photographer: Li Xiaochun)

(Please view horizontally, Relict Gull Nature Reserve, photographer: Sun Huajin)

are those who dare to battle against nature

dedicating 10, 20, or 30 years

(Transforming 70,000 mu of desert into an oasis took Yin Yuzhen and her husband 25 years—and they are still continuing, image source: Visual China Group)

grassroots cadres who take sand control as their mission

(On July 23, 2018, staff in Hangjin Banner, Ordos, demonstrate rapid willow planting, completing 2 saplings in about 10 seconds, improving survival rates and efficiency, image source: Visual China Group)

perhaps hailed as advanced models or desert-control experts

billions of years of land-sea shifts in ancient geological history

hundreds of millions of years of evolution in paleontological history

tens of thousands of years of grandeur in human civilization

have all unfolded dramatically in Ordos

The resilient land nurtured

builders of homes and sowers of hope

(Please view horizontally, the Yellow River and the Kubuqi Desert on the Ordos Plateau, photographer: Chen Jianfeng)

Reviewers: Yunwu Kongcheng, Tomorrow Will Be Better

[1] Gao Yi, Wang Zhihao, Yang Zemeng, et al. Glimpses into the History of Ordos[M]. Beijing: Cultural Relics Press, 2008.09.

[2] Liang Bing. A General History of Ordos[M]. Hohhot: Inner Mongolia University Press, 2009.07.

[3] Yang Zemeng. Whispers from Antiquity: Ordos Bronze Artifacts[M]. Hohhot: Inner Mongolia University Press, 2008.01.

[4] Ordos Museum (Ed.). The Eternal Sacred Flame: The History and Culture of the Ordos Mongols in Worshiping Genghis Khan[M]. Hohhot: Inner Mongolia University Press, 2015.04.

[5] Liang Xia, Yang Yong, Gong Wangbin, et al. Discussion on the Characteristics of Desertification in the Northern Margin of the Kubuqi Desert, Western Inner Mongolia[J]. Geological Review, 2015(04):167-176.

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