Boomtown Kangbashi on the rise

by Xinhua writers Ye Ting, An Lumeng and Sun Nan

HOHHOT -- After living in Kangbashi for two years, Jon Steenbeke now regards this emerging district of Ordos, a city in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, as his second hometown.

Steenbeke, a 35-year-old American, works as an English teacher in Kangbashi, where he has settled with his family. His second child was born there.

"There is no way I can connect this beautiful district with the term 'ghost town'," said Steenbeke, referring to a derogatory term used by some foreign media a decade ago. "The first time I came to Kangbashi, I fell in love with it."

In the early days of its construction, public facilities such as schools, hospitals and shopping malls were not yet complete. Scenes of vacant buildings and empty streets were not uncommon.

But now, Kangbashi has developed into a livable modern community that attracts locals as well as foreigners.

Bai Yulong, an official from the local bureau of culture and tourism, said the whole area was like a sheet of blank paper waiting to be drawn on.

Over a period of more than 10 years, Kangbashi has improved its supporting facilities to attract more settlers, leading the way in Ordos as it reduces its reliance on heavy industry and resources such as coal.

New economic forms, such as cultural tourism and the exhibition economy, have become the pillars of the district's thriving economy, and it has become a popular tourist destination.

In 2020, Kangbashi received over 3.26 million visitors, bringing in a total tourist revenue of about 1.1 billion yuan (about 169 million U.S. dollars).

Cultural and sports events are held regularly. At the Ordos International Circuit, racing cars speed around the track, their engines roaring.

"Kangbashi is an adventurous and passionate place, attracting many racing drivers from home and abroad every year," said racing driver Wang Gang.

Meanwhile, the development of education, culture, entertainment, medical care and other public services has boosted people's quality of life.

In recent years, more than 30 schools have been built in Kangbashi, ranging from pre-school education to higher education.

About 30 medical institutions have made medical and health services accessible to citizens within 15 minutes. It is also the first district in China to provide girls aged from 13 to 18 with vaccines against cervical cancer free of charge.

The relocation of the Ordos municipal government to Kangbashi has lured many enterprises to follow suit and set up their regional headquarters within the district, including Shenhua Group, Yankuang Group and China National Petroleum Corporation.

"Kangbashi is a microcosm of the transformation and upgrading of resource-abundant cities", said Yu Guangjun, director of the Institute of Economics, Inner Mongolia Academy of Social Sciences. "The district is also an epitome of the high-quality development of China's economy."