Skating China’s Ghost City Ordos, China has been...

Skating China’s Ghost City

Ordos, China has been a fascination the last few years. In particular, a nine-year-old district within it called the Kangbashi New Area.

Located in Inner Mongolia, Time had an article and photo essay about it back in 2010. So too the New York Times. Reuters chimed in in 2011. The BBC followed suit in 2012.

Created to house upwards of a million residents, almost no one lives there. Apartment, office and government buildings stand mostly empty. Convention centers are unused. Global economists fret this indicates a property boom ready to go bust.

But you can, evidently, skate.

Charles Lanceplaine, a French videographer based in Shanghai, recently visited with a group of riders to take advantage of the empty plazas and streets.

Bonus: Like people doing things in unexpected places? Check out four-time Irish women’s surf champ Easkey Britton riding waves in Iran near the Pakistan border.