The area had been administered as Yekhe Juu League since the 17th century, and was redesignated a prefecture-level city and renamed to Ordos on 26 February 2001. "Ordos" means "palaces" in the Mongolian language; the name is sometimes claimed to be related to the eight white yurts of Genghis Khan. Linguistically, the Ordos dialect of Mongolian is quite different from neighboring Chakhar Mongolian. Ordos is known for its lavish government projects, including the new Ordos City, a city of exquisite buildings and abundant infrastructure seldom used by residents. The area of Ordos Shi can roughly be divided into a hilly area in the east, high plateaus in the west and center, sandy deserts in the north and south, and plains at the southern bank of the Yellow river. The highest elevation, at 2,149 metres (7,051 ft), is located in the west, the lowest point, at 850 m (2,790 ft), is in the east.    Hi Res Pic (111K)