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This is China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

A deserted street in the Kangbashi district of the town of Ordos in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

Residential homes line a deserted street in Ordos.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

About 30 km north of Dongsheng is the Kangbashi district of Ordos, which means 'palaces' in the Mongolian language, an area filled with thousands of residential apartments and duplex-style homes, built to house mainly workers for the nearby coal mines just outside the town.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

However, the estimated one million people that were expected to move into or visit the district's now decaying buildings, have yet to appear.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

An advertising mascot stands in front of the unopened Ordos exhibition centre in the Kangbashi district of the town of Ordos in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

A man walks past partly built houses in Ordos in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

Ordos has many large office towers, administrative centres, government buildings, museums, theatres, school playing fields and exhibition centres.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

Gardeners take a break in front of the unopened Ordos Opera House in the Kangbashi district of the town of Ordos in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

A police car stands parked on a deserted street in front of administrative and residential buildings in the town of Ordos.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

A busy street in seen in Dongsheng in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. About 30 km north of Dongsheng is the Kangbashi district of Ordos, which is today a ghost town.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

A cleaner walks towards his cart down the stairs in front of the unopened Ordos exhibition centre.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

Newly planted trees line a new street in front of residential buildings under construction in the Kangbashi district of the town of Ordos, located around 30 kilometres south of the city of Dongsheng in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

Men push a cart along a busy main street in the city of Dongsheng, just 30 km from Ordos, in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

A billboard surrounds an area set aside for new residential buildings in the Kangbashi district of the town of Ordos.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

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China's modern ghost town

Last updated on: May 20, 2011 08:58 IST

A busy street in seen in Dongsheng in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. While Dongsheg is thriving, Ordos which is barely 30 km away, continues to be in a state of disrepair and has turned into a ghost town.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters