12 Eerily Beautiful Ghost Towns That Will Haunt Your Wanderlust

9. Ordos, China – The Empty Modern Metropolis

Unlike traditional ghost towns that fell into ruin due to disaster or economic decline, Ordos is a ghost city that was never truly alive. Built in the early 2000s in China’s Inner Mongolia region, Ordos was designed to be a futuristic utopia, complete with ultra-modern architecture, wide boulevards, luxury high-rises, and state-of-the-art cultural centers. It was meant to house over a million people, serving as a shining symbol of China’s rapid economic growth. But something strange happened—almost no one ever moved in.Despite its sleek skyscrapers, extravagant opera houses, and massive shopping malls, Ordos remains largely empty, an eerie, hollow shell of a city. The reasons for its abandonment are complex—overpriced housing, speculative investments, and a lack of economic infrastructure all contributed to its failure. Walking through Ordos today is an experience unlike any other. The streets are perfectly paved, yet void of traffic. Public parks are immaculately maintained, yet eerily quiet. Shopping malls stand with their doors open, yet inside, the escalators hum with no shoppers to carry. Despite its ghostly aura, Ordos has not completely been forgotten. Some small pockets of life exist—government buildings remain operational, and a few thousand residents do live in the outskirts. However, vast portions of the city remain vacant, making it one of the most hauntingly surreal ghost towns of the modern age.