Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park
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A ger with the Gurvansaikhan Mountains behind
Sand dunes of Khongoryn Els.
Bactrian camels by the sand dunes of Khongoryn Els.Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park is a national park in southern Mongolia. The park was established in 1993, and expanded to its current size in 2000. The park, at nearly 27,000 square kilometers, is the largest national park in Mongolia.
The park is named for the Gurvansaikhan Mountains, which translates to the Three Beauties. The name is derived from three subranges, the East, Middle and West Beauty. The range forms the eastern half of the park.
The park lies on the northern edge of the Gobi desert. The higher elevations contain areas of steppe. A number of rare plants and animals are found in the park, including the elusive snow leopard. Areas of sand dunes are found, most famously the Khongoryn Els - the Singing Sands. Another major tourist destination is Yolyn Am, a mountain valley that contains a large ice field through most of the year.
The park is usually accessed via the town Dalanzadgad, which has airport service to Ulaanbaatar.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Ömnögovi Province
Ömnögovi Province
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Ömnögovi Aimag
Өмнөговь аймаг [[image:|115px|Flag of Ömnögovi Aimag]] [[Image:|115px|Coat of arms of Ömnögovi Aimag]]
Founded 1931
Capital Dalanzadgad
Area 165,377 km²
Population
• Total (2005)
• Density
47,866
0.29/km²
Predial code +976 (0)153
License Plate ӨМ_ (_ variable)
ISO 3166-2 MN-053
Web site www.pmis.gov.mn/umnugobi/
Landscape in Ömnögovi AimagÖmnögovi Aimag (Mongolian: Өмнөговь аймаг) is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the south of the country, in the Gobi Desert. Its capital is Dalanzadgad.
The province is rich in mineral deposits, including gold and copper.
Ömnögovi includes several well known tourist areas, including the Flaming Cliffs, Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park and Khongoryn Els - The Singing Sand Dunes.
Contents [hide]
1 Transportation
2 Administrative Subdivision
3 References
4 External links
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Ömnögovi Aimag
Өмнөговь аймаг [[image:|115px|Flag of Ömnögovi Aimag]] [[Image:|115px|Coat of arms of Ömnögovi Aimag]]
Founded 1931
Capital Dalanzadgad
Area 165,377 km²
Population
• Total (2005)
• Density
47,866
0.29/km²
Predial code +976 (0)153
License Plate ӨМ_ (_ variable)
ISO 3166-2 MN-053
Web site www.pmis.gov.mn/umnugobi/
Landscape in Ömnögovi AimagÖmnögovi Aimag (Mongolian: Өмнөговь аймаг) is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the south of the country, in the Gobi Desert. Its capital is Dalanzadgad.
The province is rich in mineral deposits, including gold and copper.
Ömnögovi includes several well known tourist areas, including the Flaming Cliffs, Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park and Khongoryn Els - The Singing Sand Dunes.
Contents [hide]
1 Transportation
2 Administrative Subdivision
3 References
4 External links
Gurvansaikhan Mountains
Gurvansaikhan Mountains
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Peaks of Zuun Saikhanii Nuruu after a September snowstormThe Gurvansaikhan Mountains (Mongolian: Гурбансайхан, three beauties) are a mountain range in the Ömnögovi Province of southern Mongolia. They are named for three subranges: Baruun Saikhanii Nuruu (the Western Beauty), Dund Saikhanii Nuruu (the Middle Beauty) and Zuun Saikhanii Nuruu (the Eastern Beauty).
A yurt in front of the Gurvansaikhan MountainsThe highest peak is found in Dund Saikhanii Nuruu, and is 9,268 feet (2,825 meters) above sea level. A notable gorge, Yolyn Am, is found in Zuun Saikhanii Nuruu. Though the range is surrounded by the Gobi desert, Yoliin Am contains a semi-permanent ice field.
The range forms the eastern half of the Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park.
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Peaks of Zuun Saikhanii Nuruu after a September snowstormThe Gurvansaikhan Mountains (Mongolian: Гурбансайхан, three beauties) are a mountain range in the Ömnögovi Province of southern Mongolia. They are named for three subranges: Baruun Saikhanii Nuruu (the Western Beauty), Dund Saikhanii Nuruu (the Middle Beauty) and Zuun Saikhanii Nuruu (the Eastern Beauty).
A yurt in front of the Gurvansaikhan MountainsThe highest peak is found in Dund Saikhanii Nuruu, and is 9,268 feet (2,825 meters) above sea level. A notable gorge, Yolyn Am, is found in Zuun Saikhanii Nuruu. Though the range is surrounded by the Gobi desert, Yoliin Am contains a semi-permanent ice field.
The range forms the eastern half of the Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park.
Lake Khovsgol
Lake Khövsgöl
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Lake Khövsgöl
Coordinates 51°06′N 100°30′ECoordinates: 51°06′N 100°30′E
Lake type Rift lake
Primary outflows Egiin Gol
Basin countries Mongolia
Max length 136 km
Max width 36 km
Surface area 2760 km²
Max depth 267 m
Water volume 381 km³
Surface elevation 1,645 m
Islands Modon khüi, Khadan khüi, Modot tolgoi, Baga khüi
Settlements Khatgal
Lake Khövsgöl.
Rainbow at Lake Khövsgöl.Lake Khövsgöl (Mongolian: Хөвсгөл нуур, Khövsgöl nuur, also Khövsgöl dalai (Хөвсгөл далай, Khövsgöl ocean) or Dalai Eej (Далай ээж, ocean mother) is the second largest lake in Mongolia.
Contents [hide]
1 Geography
2 Ecological significance
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
[edit] Geography
Khövsgöl nuur is located in the northwest of Mongolia near the border to Russia, at the foot of the eastern Sayan Mountains. It is 1,645 m above sea level, 136 km long and 262 m deep. It holds almost 70% of Mongolia's fresh water and 0.4% of all the fresh water in the world.[1]
Its watershed is relatively small, and it only has small tributaries. It gets drained at the south end by the Egiin Gol, which connects to the Selenge and ultimately into Lake Baikal. In between, the water travels a distance of more than 1,000 km, and a height difference of 1,169 m, although the line-of-sight distance is only about 200 km.
The lake is surrounded by several mountain ranges. The highest mountain is the Munku Sardyk (3,492 m), which has its peak north of the lake exactly on the Russian-Mongolian border. The surface of the lake freezes over completely in winter. The ice cover gets strong enough to carry heavy trucks, so that transport routes are installed on its surface as shortcuts to the normal roads.
[edit] Ecological significance
Khövsgöl is one of seventeen ancient lakes worldwide more than 2 million years old and the most pristine (apart from Lake Vostok).[2][3] and is the most significant drinking water reserve of Mongolia. Its water is potable without any treatment and offers good living conditions for many types of fish.
The Lake area is a National Park bigger than Yellowstone and strictly protected as a transition zone between Central Asian Steppe and Siberian Taiga. The lake is traditionally considered sacred in a land suffering from arid conditions where most lakes are salty.
The Park is home to a variety of wildlife such as ibex, argali, elk, wolf, wolverine, musk deer, brown bear, Siberian moose and sable.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Lake Khövsgöl
Coordinates 51°06′N 100°30′ECoordinates: 51°06′N 100°30′E
Lake type Rift lake
Primary outflows Egiin Gol
Basin countries Mongolia
Max length 136 km
Max width 36 km
Surface area 2760 km²
Max depth 267 m
Water volume 381 km³
Surface elevation 1,645 m
Islands Modon khüi, Khadan khüi, Modot tolgoi, Baga khüi
Settlements Khatgal
Lake Khövsgöl.
Rainbow at Lake Khövsgöl.Lake Khövsgöl (Mongolian: Хөвсгөл нуур, Khövsgöl nuur, also Khövsgöl dalai (Хөвсгөл далай, Khövsgöl ocean) or Dalai Eej (Далай ээж, ocean mother) is the second largest lake in Mongolia.
Contents [hide]
1 Geography
2 Ecological significance
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
[edit] Geography
Khövsgöl nuur is located in the northwest of Mongolia near the border to Russia, at the foot of the eastern Sayan Mountains. It is 1,645 m above sea level, 136 km long and 262 m deep. It holds almost 70% of Mongolia's fresh water and 0.4% of all the fresh water in the world.[1]
Its watershed is relatively small, and it only has small tributaries. It gets drained at the south end by the Egiin Gol, which connects to the Selenge and ultimately into Lake Baikal. In between, the water travels a distance of more than 1,000 km, and a height difference of 1,169 m, although the line-of-sight distance is only about 200 km.
The lake is surrounded by several mountain ranges. The highest mountain is the Munku Sardyk (3,492 m), which has its peak north of the lake exactly on the Russian-Mongolian border. The surface of the lake freezes over completely in winter. The ice cover gets strong enough to carry heavy trucks, so that transport routes are installed on its surface as shortcuts to the normal roads.
[edit] Ecological significance
Khövsgöl is one of seventeen ancient lakes worldwide more than 2 million years old and the most pristine (apart from Lake Vostok).[2][3] and is the most significant drinking water reserve of Mongolia. Its water is potable without any treatment and offers good living conditions for many types of fish.
The Lake area is a National Park bigger than Yellowstone and strictly protected as a transition zone between Central Asian Steppe and Siberian Taiga. The lake is traditionally considered sacred in a land suffering from arid conditions where most lakes are salty.
The Park is home to a variety of wildlife such as ibex, argali, elk, wolf, wolverine, musk deer, brown bear, Siberian moose and sable.
Mongolia
Mongolia
It may feel like bygone times, but you can still find sushi if you want.
At a Glance Fast Facts
WORLDGUIDE
Introduction
Background Info
See
Image Gallery
Transport
Money
RELATED
Thorn Tree Forum
Tips From Travellers
Travel Links
View Map
Click here The name 'Mongolia' has always stirred up visions of the untamed - Genghis Khan, camels wandering the Gobi Desert and wild horses galloping across the steppes. Even today, outside of Ulaanbaatar you may get the feeling you've stepped into another century rather than another country.
When To Go
The travel season is typically from May to early October, though Ulaanbaatar can be visited any time of year if you can tolerate the bitter cold. Early July has the best weather for the northern part of the country and is also the time to celebrate Mongolia's Naadam Festival. Unfortunately, this is the peak tourist season, when Ulaanbaatar's inadequate accommodation and creaky transport is stretched to breaking point. The rainy season, from late July through August, cools things down and the turn the countryside to green, but will also turn jeep trails into muck. Rains in the north also bring biting flies and mosquitoes. June and September are both pleasant times to visit, and attract fewer visitors.
The best months to visit the Gobi Desert and not get toasted are September and October. Be aware that between mid-October and mid-May sudden snowstorms and extreme cold can ground flights, block roads and cause the country's transport system to stall. Mongolians, especially nomads, consider March and April the worst months. After the long winter, livestock will already be thin, and a lack of rain means many will die, causing financial and psychological hardship. Staying with a nomad family at this time is not recommended if the spring is a harsh one.
It may feel like bygone times, but you can still find sushi if you want.
At a Glance Fast Facts
WORLDGUIDE
Introduction
Background Info
See
Image Gallery
Transport
Money
RELATED
Thorn Tree Forum
Tips From Travellers
Travel Links
View Map
Click here The name 'Mongolia' has always stirred up visions of the untamed - Genghis Khan, camels wandering the Gobi Desert and wild horses galloping across the steppes. Even today, outside of Ulaanbaatar you may get the feeling you've stepped into another century rather than another country.
When To Go
The travel season is typically from May to early October, though Ulaanbaatar can be visited any time of year if you can tolerate the bitter cold. Early July has the best weather for the northern part of the country and is also the time to celebrate Mongolia's Naadam Festival. Unfortunately, this is the peak tourist season, when Ulaanbaatar's inadequate accommodation and creaky transport is stretched to breaking point. The rainy season, from late July through August, cools things down and the turn the countryside to green, but will also turn jeep trails into muck. Rains in the north also bring biting flies and mosquitoes. June and September are both pleasant times to visit, and attract fewer visitors.
The best months to visit the Gobi Desert and not get toasted are September and October. Be aware that between mid-October and mid-May sudden snowstorms and extreme cold can ground flights, block roads and cause the country's transport system to stall. Mongolians, especially nomads, consider March and April the worst months. After the long winter, livestock will already be thin, and a lack of rain means many will die, causing financial and psychological hardship. Staying with a nomad family at this time is not recommended if the spring is a harsh one.
Ulaangom , Mongolia
Ulaangom
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Ulaangom (Mongolian: Улаангом, Red Sand) is the capital of Uvs Province in Mongolia. It is located at the southwest end of the lake Uvs Nuur and on the slopes of the Kharkhiraa mountains, close to the Russian border.
Contents [hide]
1 Description
2 Culture
3 History
4 Transportation
5 Climate
[edit] Description
Ulaangom marks one of the lowest points in the country, lying about 939 m above sea level. The city has a population of 26,319 (2000 census), 23,000 (2006 est.[1]). It is divided into two suburban areas named Chandmani "Чандмань" and Uliasny Khev "Улиасны Хэв".
A Consulate of Tuva Republic of Russia is located in Ulaangom, and a Representative Office of Uvs Province in Kyzyl, the capital of Tuva.
[edit] Culture
The city has monuments from the communist era, such as a monument of Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal, who led the country for more than 40 years, in front of the Provincial Government Building. There are many educational and cultural organizations and institutions in the city. There is a branch of a university, a vocational college and 5 secondary schools.
[edit] History
Ulaangom is believed to be founded in 1686. The foundation of the Ulaangom Monastery was erected in 1871 as Dechinravjaa Monastery. Historical evidence indicates that there were grain plantations in operation in late 1600s in the area of Ulaangom.
[edit] Transportation
Ulaangom is connected to the Russian border by Highway, and imports its electricity from the Russian Federation. There is one airport (ULO) in the city which has direct flights from or to Ulaanbaatar by Aero Mongolia. The Eznis Airways also runs regular flights between Ulaangom and Ulaanbaatar. There are no direct flights to any other cities or towns in the country from the city.
[edit] Climate
Ulaangom is one of the coldest places in Mongolia. Temperatures can reach −45° C in the winter and +40° C or more in the summer.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Ten things you may not know about images on Wikipedia •Jump to: navigation, search
Ulaangom (Mongolian: Улаангом, Red Sand) is the capital of Uvs Province in Mongolia. It is located at the southwest end of the lake Uvs Nuur and on the slopes of the Kharkhiraa mountains, close to the Russian border.
Contents [hide]
1 Description
2 Culture
3 History
4 Transportation
5 Climate
[edit] Description
Ulaangom marks one of the lowest points in the country, lying about 939 m above sea level. The city has a population of 26,319 (2000 census), 23,000 (2006 est.[1]). It is divided into two suburban areas named Chandmani "Чандмань" and Uliasny Khev "Улиасны Хэв".
A Consulate of Tuva Republic of Russia is located in Ulaangom, and a Representative Office of Uvs Province in Kyzyl, the capital of Tuva.
[edit] Culture
The city has monuments from the communist era, such as a monument of Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal, who led the country for more than 40 years, in front of the Provincial Government Building. There are many educational and cultural organizations and institutions in the city. There is a branch of a university, a vocational college and 5 secondary schools.
[edit] History
Ulaangom is believed to be founded in 1686. The foundation of the Ulaangom Monastery was erected in 1871 as Dechinravjaa Monastery. Historical evidence indicates that there were grain plantations in operation in late 1600s in the area of Ulaangom.
[edit] Transportation
Ulaangom is connected to the Russian border by Highway, and imports its electricity from the Russian Federation. There is one airport (ULO) in the city which has direct flights from or to Ulaanbaatar by Aero Mongolia. The Eznis Airways also runs regular flights between Ulaangom and Ulaanbaatar. There are no direct flights to any other cities or towns in the country from the city.
[edit] Climate
Ulaangom is one of the coldest places in Mongolia. Temperatures can reach −45° C in the winter and +40° C or more in the summer.
Khovd city , Mongolia
Khovd (city)
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This article is about the city in Mongolia. For other uses, see Khovd.
Khovd (Mongolian: Ховд), also Hovd and Kobdo in older books, is the capital of the Khovd Province of Mongolia.
[edit] Geography
It is situated at the foot of the Mongolian Altay Mountains, on the Buyant Gol river. The Khar Us Nuur (Black Water Lake) is located approximately 25 km east of Khovd, and is the location of a Strictly Protected Area (Mongolian Government designation), called the Mankhan Nature Preserve.
Khovd is known throughout the region for its watermelon harvest in the late summer, as well as the high quality of its seasonal meat products.
As a result of administrative reforms in 1992, Khovd was accorded the status of Jargalant sum. City area is 80 km2.
The city of Khovd
[edit] Population
The city has a population of 26,023 (2000 census), 30,479 (2003, est.), 30,500(2006[1]).
Khovd is distinguished by its multi-cultural population. It is home to more than 17 nationalities and ethnicities. The main ethnic groups are the Khalkh — comprising 27.5 percent of the population; Zahchin — 24.9 percent; Kazakh — 11.5 percent; Torguud — 8.1 percent; Uriankhai — 7.6 percent; Uuld — 7.5 percent; and Durvud — 6.0 percent. Each of these groups has its own distinct traditional dwelling and settlement pattern, dress and other cultural distinctions, literary, artistic, and musical traditions
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the city in Mongolia. For other uses, see Khovd.
Khovd (Mongolian: Ховд), also Hovd and Kobdo in older books, is the capital of the Khovd Province of Mongolia.
[edit] Geography
It is situated at the foot of the Mongolian Altay Mountains, on the Buyant Gol river. The Khar Us Nuur (Black Water Lake) is located approximately 25 km east of Khovd, and is the location of a Strictly Protected Area (Mongolian Government designation), called the Mankhan Nature Preserve.
Khovd is known throughout the region for its watermelon harvest in the late summer, as well as the high quality of its seasonal meat products.
As a result of administrative reforms in 1992, Khovd was accorded the status of Jargalant sum. City area is 80 km2.
The city of Khovd
[edit] Population
The city has a population of 26,023 (2000 census), 30,479 (2003, est.), 30,500(2006[1]).
Khovd is distinguished by its multi-cultural population. It is home to more than 17 nationalities and ethnicities. The main ethnic groups are the Khalkh — comprising 27.5 percent of the population; Zahchin — 24.9 percent; Kazakh — 11.5 percent; Torguud — 8.1 percent; Uriankhai — 7.6 percent; Uuld — 7.5 percent; and Durvud — 6.0 percent. Each of these groups has its own distinct traditional dwelling and settlement pattern, dress and other cultural distinctions, literary, artistic, and musical traditions
Khovd , Mongolia
Khovd Province
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This article is about the province of Mongolia. For other uses, see Khovd.
Khovd Aimag
Ховд аймаг
Founded 1931
Capital Khovd
Area 76,100 km²
Population
• Total (2005)
• Density
91,687
1.20/km²
Predial code +976 (0)143
License Plate
ISO 3166-2 MN-043
Web site gate1.pmis.gov.mn/hovd/
Khovd Aimag (Mongolian: Ховд аймаг) is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country. Its capital is Khovd.
Khovd is approximately 1,580 km from Ulan Bator. It is considered remote even for Mongolian standards.
Contents [hide]
1 Population
2 Climate
3 Transportation
4 Economy
5 Administrative Subdivision
6 References
[edit] Population
Khovd is ethnically diverse, with some 16 different and distinctive tribal segments represented. There is a rather large minority Kazakh-Mongol population that speaks both Kazakh and Mongolian.
The Khovd aimag population growth stopped in 1991, then migration out of the aimag (approx. 20,000 in 1992-2004) compensated the natural increase and confined aimag's population within 87,000 – 92,000 limits.
Khovd aimag population [1] [2][3] 1963
census 1969
census 1975
est. 1979
census 1981
est. 1989
census 1991
est. 1993
est. 1995
est. 1997
est. 1999
est. 2000
census 2002
est. 2004
est.
47,300 54,000 59,200 62,600 64,500 86,831 89,365 87,171 88,494 91,339 91.490 89,326 89,664 91,770
[edit] Climate
Khovd is notorious for its harsh weather cycles, as temperatures regularly reach as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and as low as −30 degrees Celsius (−22 degrees Fahrenheit). The climate is dry, as it receives the same average rainfall of Phoenix, Arizona each year.
[edit] Transportation
The Khovd Airport (HVD/ZMKD) has two runways, one of which is paved, and gets served by regular flights from and to Ulan Bator, Mörön, and Bulgan
[edit] Economy
The region around the city is famous in Mongolia for its watermelon crop.
There is a sizable hydroelectric dambuilding project underway that will theoretically generate enough electricity to power the three most western aimags (Uvs, Bayan-Ölgii, and Khovd). Currently, the city of Khovd is connected to the Russian power grid and subject to blackouts if it falls behind in its payments.
[edit] Administrative Subdivision
Sums of Khovd AimagThe Aimag capital Khovd is geographically located in the Buyant sum, but is administrated as independent Jargalant sum. The administrative center of the Khovd Sum is also called Khovd, which is a common source of confusion. The othe administrative centers carry the name of the respective Sum as well.
The sums of Khovd Aimag Sum Mongolian
Altai Алтай
Bulgan Булган
Buyant Буянт
Chandmani Чандмань
Darvi Дарви
Dörgön Дөргөн
Duut Дуут
Erdenebüren Эрдэнэбүрэн
Jargalant* Жаргалант
Khovd Ховд
Mankhan Манхан
Mönkhkhairkhan Мөнххайрхан
Möst Мөст
Myangad Мянгад
Tsetseg Цэцэг
Üyench Үенч
Zereg Зэрэг
* - The aimag capital Khovd
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the province of Mongolia. For other uses, see Khovd.
Khovd Aimag
Ховд аймаг
Founded 1931
Capital Khovd
Area 76,100 km²
Population
• Total (2005)
• Density
91,687
1.20/km²
Predial code +976 (0)143
License Plate
ISO 3166-2 MN-043
Web site gate1.pmis.gov.mn/hovd/
Khovd Aimag (Mongolian: Ховд аймаг) is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country. Its capital is Khovd.
Khovd is approximately 1,580 km from Ulan Bator. It is considered remote even for Mongolian standards.
Contents [hide]
1 Population
2 Climate
3 Transportation
4 Economy
5 Administrative Subdivision
6 References
[edit] Population
Khovd is ethnically diverse, with some 16 different and distinctive tribal segments represented. There is a rather large minority Kazakh-Mongol population that speaks both Kazakh and Mongolian.
The Khovd aimag population growth stopped in 1991, then migration out of the aimag (approx. 20,000 in 1992-2004) compensated the natural increase and confined aimag's population within 87,000 – 92,000 limits.
Khovd aimag population [1] [2][3] 1963
census 1969
census 1975
est. 1979
census 1981
est. 1989
census 1991
est. 1993
est. 1995
est. 1997
est. 1999
est. 2000
census 2002
est. 2004
est.
47,300 54,000 59,200 62,600 64,500 86,831 89,365 87,171 88,494 91,339 91.490 89,326 89,664 91,770
[edit] Climate
Khovd is notorious for its harsh weather cycles, as temperatures regularly reach as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and as low as −30 degrees Celsius (−22 degrees Fahrenheit). The climate is dry, as it receives the same average rainfall of Phoenix, Arizona each year.
[edit] Transportation
The Khovd Airport (HVD/ZMKD) has two runways, one of which is paved, and gets served by regular flights from and to Ulan Bator, Mörön, and Bulgan
[edit] Economy
The region around the city is famous in Mongolia for its watermelon crop.
There is a sizable hydroelectric dambuilding project underway that will theoretically generate enough electricity to power the three most western aimags (Uvs, Bayan-Ölgii, and Khovd). Currently, the city of Khovd is connected to the Russian power grid and subject to blackouts if it falls behind in its payments.
[edit] Administrative Subdivision
Sums of Khovd AimagThe Aimag capital Khovd is geographically located in the Buyant sum, but is administrated as independent Jargalant sum. The administrative center of the Khovd Sum is also called Khovd, which is a common source of confusion. The othe administrative centers carry the name of the respective Sum as well.
The sums of Khovd Aimag Sum Mongolian
Altai Алтай
Bulgan Булган
Buyant Буянт
Chandmani Чандмань
Darvi Дарви
Dörgön Дөргөн
Duut Дуут
Erdenebüren Эрдэнэбүрэн
Jargalant* Жаргалант
Khovd Ховд
Mankhan Манхан
Mönkhkhairkhan Мөнххайрхан
Möst Мөст
Myangad Мянгад
Tsetseg Цэцэг
Üyench Үенч
Zereg Зэрэг
* - The aimag capital Khovd
Dalanzadgad , Mongolia
Dalanzadgad
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The streets of DalanzadgadDalanzadgad (Mongolian: Даланзадгад) is the capital of Ömnögovi Aimag in Mongolia. It is located 540 kilometers (336 miles) south of the national capital Ulan Bator. The altitude of the city center is 1,470 meters (4,823 feet).
As of 2006, its population is 14,000[1].
[edit] Transportation
The Dalanzadgad Airport (ZMDZ/DLZ) has one unpaved runway. It is served by regular domestic flights from and to Ulaanbaatar. There are summer and winter timetables. Flights are made by MIAT and other smaller companies. As Dalazadgad is on the tourist route to Gobi - there will be chartered flights from Ulan Bator, but not necessarily back - because the people continue to travel in off-road vehicles.
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The streets of DalanzadgadDalanzadgad (Mongolian: Даланзадгад) is the capital of Ömnögovi Aimag in Mongolia. It is located 540 kilometers (336 miles) south of the national capital Ulan Bator. The altitude of the city center is 1,470 meters (4,823 feet).
As of 2006, its population is 14,000[1].
[edit] Transportation
The Dalanzadgad Airport (ZMDZ/DLZ) has one unpaved runway. It is served by regular domestic flights from and to Ulaanbaatar. There are summer and winter timetables. Flights are made by MIAT and other smaller companies. As Dalazadgad is on the tourist route to Gobi - there will be chartered flights from Ulan Bator, but not necessarily back - because the people continue to travel in off-road vehicles.
Choibalasan , Mongolia
Choibalsan (city)
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This article is about the Mongolian city. For other uses, see Choibalsan.
Bridge over the Kherlen River in Choibalsan (taken in 1972)Choibalsan (Mongolian: Чойбалсан) is the fourth-largest city in Mongolia. The name of the city was Bayan Tumen (Баян Тумэн) until 1941, when it was renamed after the communist leader Khorloogiin Choibalsan. It is the capital of the aimag (province) of Dornod and city administrative unit official name is Kherlen sum with area of 281 km2. It is situated at the Kherlen River, at an elevation of 747 m above sea.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Population
3 Transportation
4 References
[edit] History
The location has been a post on a trading route for centuries. In the 19th century it grew into a city, and became the economic hub of eastern Mongolia in the twentieth century. After democratization 1992, when the Russian workers left, large parts of the economy collapsed. Since then, the city suffers from one of the highest unemployment rates in Mongolia.
[edit] Population
The Choibalsan city has a population of 45,490(1994), 41,714 (2000), 36,142 (2003), 39,500 (2006, 53.3% aimag's population).[1] Choibalsan is inhabited primarily by Khalkha Mongolians, with smaller numbers of Buryats, Barga, and Uzemchin. There's also a minority of immigrants from Inner Mongolia in China.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Ten things you may not know about Wikipedia •Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the Mongolian city. For other uses, see Choibalsan.
Bridge over the Kherlen River in Choibalsan (taken in 1972)Choibalsan (Mongolian: Чойбалсан) is the fourth-largest city in Mongolia. The name of the city was Bayan Tumen (Баян Тумэн) until 1941, when it was renamed after the communist leader Khorloogiin Choibalsan. It is the capital of the aimag (province) of Dornod and city administrative unit official name is Kherlen sum with area of 281 km2. It is situated at the Kherlen River, at an elevation of 747 m above sea.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Population
3 Transportation
4 References
[edit] History
The location has been a post on a trading route for centuries. In the 19th century it grew into a city, and became the economic hub of eastern Mongolia in the twentieth century. After democratization 1992, when the Russian workers left, large parts of the economy collapsed. Since then, the city suffers from one of the highest unemployment rates in Mongolia.
[edit] Population
The Choibalsan city has a population of 45,490(1994), 41,714 (2000), 36,142 (2003), 39,500 (2006, 53.3% aimag's population).[1] Choibalsan is inhabited primarily by Khalkha Mongolians, with smaller numbers of Buryats, Barga, and Uzemchin. There's also a minority of immigrants from Inner Mongolia in China.
Gobi Desert , Mongolia
Gobi Desert
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This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes.
Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies.
This article is largely based on the article in the out-of-copyright 11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, which was produced in 1911. It should be brought up to date to reflect subsequent history or scholarship (including the references, if any). When you have completed the review, replace this notice with a simple note on this article's talk page. Thanks!
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The Gobi Desert lies in the territory of the People's Republic of China and the Country of Mongolia.
The part of Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China
Gobi Desert landscape in Ömnögovi Province, Mongolia.
Bactrian camels by the sand dunes of Khongoryn Els, Gurvansaikhan NP, Mongolia.The Gobi (Chinese: 戈壁(沙漠) Gēbì (Shāmò); Mongolian: Говь, Govi or Gov', meaning, gravel-covered plain) is a large desert region in China and southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altay Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Tibetan Plateau to the southwest, and by the North China Plain to the southeast. The Gobi is made up of several distinct ecological and geographic regions based on variations in climate and topography This desert is both Asia's largest and the fourth largest in the world
The Gobi is most notable in history as part of the great Mongol Empire, and as the location of several important cities along the Silk Road.
The Gobi is a rain shadow desert formed by the Himalaya range blocking rain-carrying clouds from reaching the Gobi.
Contents [hide]
1 Geography
2 Climate
2.1 Climate (as of 1911)
3 Conservation, ecology, economy
4 Desertification
5 Ecoregions of the Gobi
5.1 Eastern Gobi desert steppe
5.2 Ala Shan Plateau semi-desert
5.3 Junggar Basin semi-desert
6 European exploration up to 1911
7 See also
8 Notes
9 Further reading
10 External links
[edit] Geography
The Gobi measures over 1,500 km (932 mi) from southwest to northeast and 800 km (497 mi) from north to south. The desert is widest in the west, along the line joining the Baghrash Kol and the Lop Nor (87°-89° east). It occupies an arc of land 1,295,000 km² (500,002 sq mi)[1] in area, making it fourth largest in the world and Asia's largest. Much of the Gobi is not sandy but is covered with bare rock.
The Gobi has several alternative Chinese names, including 沙漠 (shāmò, actually a generic term for deserts in general) and 旱海 (hànhǎi, dry sea). In its broadest definition, the Gobi includes the long stretch of desert and semidesert country extending from the foot of the Pamirs, 77° east, to the Greater Khingan Mountains, 116°-118° east, on the border of Manchuria; and from the foothills of the Altay, Sayan, and Yablonoi mountain ranges on the north to the Kunlun Shan, Altun Shan, and Qilian shan ranges, which form the northern edges of the Tibetan Plateau, on the south.
A relatively large area on the east side of the Greater Khingan range, between the upper waters of the Songhua (Sungari) and the upper waters of the Liao-ho, is also reckoned to belong to the Gobi by conventional usage. On the other hand, geographers and ecologists prefer to regard the western area of the Gobi region (as defined above), the basin of the Tarim in Xinjiang and the desert basin of Lop Nor and Hami (Kumul) as forming a separate and independent desert, called the Taklamakan Desert.
The Nemegt Basin in the northwestern part of the Gobi Desert (in Mongolia) is famous for its dinosaur fossil treasures.
[edit] Climate
The Gobi desert is a cold desert, and it is not uncommon to see frost and occasionally snow on its dunes. Besides being quite far north, it is also roughly 900 meters (2,953 ft) above sea level, which further contributes to its low temperatures. An average of approximately 194 millimeters (7.6 in) of rain falls per year in the Gobi. Additional moisture reaches parts of the Gobi in winter as snow is blown by the wind from the Siberian Steppes. These winds cause the Gobi to reach extremes of temperature like no other, ranging from –40°C in Winter to +50°C in Summer. [2]
[edit] Climate (as of 1911)
The climate of the Gobi is one of great extremes, combined with rapid changes of temperature, not only through the year but even within 24 hours (by as much as 32 °C or 58 °F).
Temperature Ulaanbaatar (1150 m) Sivantse (1190 m)
Annual mean -2.5 °C (27 °F) +2.8 °C (37 °F)
January mean -26.5 °C (-15.7 °F) -16.5 °C (2 °F)
July mean 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) 19.0 °C (66 °F)
Extremes 38.0 °C and -43 °C (100 °F and -45 °F) 33.9 °C and -47 °C (93 °F and -52 °F)
Even in southern Mongolia the thermometer goes down as low as -32.8 °C (-27 °F), and in Ala-shan it rises as high as 37 °C (98.6 °F) in July.
Average winter minimals are a frigid -40 °C (-40 °F) while summertime temperatures are warm to hot, highs range up to 50 °C (112 °F). Most of the precipitation falls during the summer.
Although the southeast monsoons reach the southeast parts of the Gobi, the area throughout this region is generally characterized by extreme dryness, especially during the winter. Hence, the icy sandstorms and snowstorms of spring and early summer plus early January (winter)
[edit] Conservation, ecology, economy
The Gobi Desert is the source of many important fossil finds, including the first dinosaur eggs.
These deserts and the surrounding regions sustain many animals, including black-tailed gazelles, marbled polecats, and sandplovers, and are occasionally visited by snow leopards, brown bears, and wolves. The desert features a number of drought-adapted shrubs such as gray sparrow's saltwort, gray sagebrush, and low grasses such as needle grass and bridlegrass.
The area is vulnerable to trampling by livestock and off-road vehicles (human impacts are greater in the eastern Gobi Desert, where rainfall is heavier and may sustain livestock). In Mongolia, grasslands have been degraded by goats, raised by nomadic herders as source of cashmere wool. Economic trends of livestock privatization and the collapse of the urban economy have caused people to return to rural lifestyles, a movement contrary to urbanization. This movement has resulted in a great increase of nomadic herder population and livestock raising.
Large copper and gold deposits are located at Oyuu Tolgoi, about 80 kilometers from the Chinese border into Mongolia and the feasibility of setting up a mining operation is being investigated.[1]
[edit] Desertification
Currently, the Gobi desert is expanding at an impressive rate, in a process known as desertification. The expansion is particularly rapid on the southern edge into China, which has seen 3,600 km² (1,390 sq mi) of grassland overtaken every year by the Gobi Desert. This loss of farmland has caused an estimated $50 billion in losses each year for China's economy. Dust storms, which were once a rarity, are springing up all over China, and could cause even further damage to China's agriculture economy.
The expansion of the Gobi is attributed mostly to human activities, notably deforestation, overgrazing, overconsumption of water resources, and global warming. China has made various plans to try to slow the expansion of the desert, which have met with some small degree of success, but usually have no major impact. The most recent plan involves the planting of the Green Wall of China, a huge ring of newly-planted forests that the Chinese government hopes will act as a buffer against further expansion.
[edit] Ecoregions of the Gobi
The Gobi, broadly defined, can be divided into five distinct dry ecoregions.
The 'Eastern Gobi desert steppe' is the easternmost of the Gobi ecoregions, covering an area of 281,800 km² (108,804 sq mi). It extends from the Inner Mongolian Plateau in China northward into Mongolia. It includes the Yin Mountains and many low-lying areas with salt pans and small ponds. It is bounded by the Mongolian-Manchurian grassland to the north, the Yellow River Plain to the southeast, and the Alashan Plateau semi-desert to the southeast and east.
The Alashan Plateau semi-desert lies west and southwest of the Eastern Gobi desert steppe. It consists of the desert basins and low mountains lying between the Gobi Altay range on the north, the Helan Mountains to the southeast, and the Qilian Mountains and northeastern portion of the Tibetan Plateau on the southwest.
The Gobi Lakes Valley desert steppe ecoregion lies north of Alashan Plateau semi-desert, between the Gobi Altay range to the south and the Khangai Mountains to the north.
The Junggar Basin semi-desert includes the desert basin lying between the Altay mountains on the north and the Tian Shan range on the south. It includes the northern portion of China's Xinjiang province and extends into the southeastern corner of Mongolia. The Alashan Plateau semi-desert lies to the east, and the Emin Valley steppe to the west, on the China-Kazakhstan border.
The Tian Shan range separates the Junggar Basin semi-desert from the Taklamakan Desert, which is a low, sandy desert basin surrounded by the high mountain ranges of the Tibetan Plateau to the south and the Pamirs to the west. The Taklamakan Desert ecoregion includes the Desert of Lop.
[edit] Eastern Gobi desert steppe
Here the surface is extremely diversified, although there are no great differences in vertical elevation. Between Ulaanbaatar (48° N 107° E) and the little lake of Iren-dubasu-nor (43°45′N, 111°50′E ) the surface is greatly eroded, and consists of broad flat depressions and basins separated by groups of flat-topped mountains of relatively low elevation (150-180 m), through which archaic rocks crop out as crags and isolated rugged masses. The floors of the depressions lie mostly between 900-1000 m above sea-level. Farther south, between Iren-dutiasu-nor and the Hwang-ho comes a region of broad tablelands alternating with flat plains, the latter ranging at altitudes of 1000-1100 m and the former at 1070-1200 m. The slopes of the plateaus are more or less steep, and are sometimes penetrated by "bays" of the lowlands. As the border-range of the Hyangan is approached, the country steadily rises up to 1370 m and then to 1630 m. Here small lakes frequently fill the depressions, though the water in them is generally salt or brackish. Both here and for 320 km (199 mi) south of Ulaanbaatar, streams are frequent and grass grows more or less abundantly. There is, however, through all the central parts, until the bordering mountains are reached, an utter absence of trees and shrubs. Clay and sand are the predominant formations, the watercourses, especially in the north, being frequently excavated 2-3 m deep, and in many places in the flat, dry valleys or depressions farther south beds of loess, 5-6 m thick, are exposed. West of the route from Ulaanbaatar to Kalgan the country presents approximately the same general features, except that the mountains are not so irregularly scattered in groups but have more strongly defined strikes, mostly east to west, west-north-west to east-south-east, and west-south-west to east-north-east.
The altitudes too are higher, those of the lowlands ranging from 1000-1700 m, and those of the ranges from 200-500 m higher, though in a few cases they reach altitudes of 2400 m. The elevations do not, however, form continuous chains, but make up a congeries of short ridges and groups rising from a common base and intersected by a labyrinth of ravines, gullies, glens and basins. But the tablelards, built up of the horizontal red deposits of the Han-gai (Ohruchev's Gobi formation) which are characteristic of the southern parts of eastern Mongolia, are absent here or occur only in one locality, near the Shara-muren river, and are then greatly intersected by gullies or dry watercourses. Here there is, however, a great dearth of water, no streams, no lakes, no wells, arid precipitation falls but seldom. The prevailing winds blow from the west and northwest and the pall of dust overhangs the country as in the Takla Makan and the desert of Lop. Characteristic of the flora are wild garlic, Kalidium gracile, wormwood, saxaul, Nitraria schoberi, Caragana, Ephedra, saltwort and the grass Lasiagrostis splendens. The taana wild onion Allium polyrrhizum is the main browse eaten by many herd animals, and Mongolians claim that this is essential to produce the correct, slightly hazelnut-like flavour of camel airag (fermented milk).
This great desert country of Gobi is crossed by several trade routes, some of which have been in use for thousands of years. Among the most important are those from Kalgan on the frontier of China to Ulaanbaatar (960 km (597 mi)), from Suzhou (in Gansu) to Hami 670 km (416 mi) from Hami to Beijing (2,000 km (1,243 mi)), from Kwei-hwa-cheng (or Kuku-khoto) to Hami and Barkul, and from Lanzhou (in Gansu) to Hami.
[edit] Ala Shan Plateau semi-desert
The southwestern portion of the Gobi, known also as the Hsi-tau and the Little Gobi, fills the space between the great north loop of the Huang He or Yellow river on the east, the Edzin-gol on the west, and the Qilian Mountains and narrow rocky chain of Longshou (Ala-shan), 3200-3500 m in altitude, on the southwest. The Ordos Desert, which covers the northeastern portion of the Ordos Plateau, in the great north loop of the Huang He, is part of this ecoregion. It belongs to the middle basin of the three great depressions into which Potanin divides the Gobi as a whole. "Topographically," says Przhevalsky, "it is a perfectly level plain, which in all probability once formed the bed of a huge lake or inland sea." The data upon which he bases this conclusion are the level area of the region as a whole, the hard saldgine clay and the sand-strewn surface, and lastly the salt lakes which occupy its lowest parts. For hundreds of kilometers there is nothing to be seen but bare sands; in some places they continue so far without a break that the Mongols call them Tengger (i.e. sky). These vast expanses are absolutely waterless, nor do any oases relieve the unbroken stretches of yellow sand which alternate with equally vast areas of saline clay or, nearer the foot of the mountains, with barren shingle. Although on the whole a level country with a general altitude of 1000 to 1500 m, this section, like most other parts of the Gobi, is crowned by a chequered network of hills and broken ranges going up 300 m higher. The vegetation is confined to a few varieties of bushes and a dozen kinds of grasses and herbs, the most conspicuous being saxaul (Haloxylon ammondendron) and Agriophyllum gobicum. The others include prickly convolvulus, field wormwood (Artemisia campestris), acacia, Inula ammophila, Sophora flavescens, Convolvulus ammanii, Peganum and Astragalus, but all dwarfed, deformed and starved. The fauna consists of little else except antelopes, the wolf, fox, hare, hedgehog, marten, numerous lizards and a few birds, e.g. the sandgrouse, lark, stonechat, sparrow, crane, Henderson's Ground Jay (Podoces hendersoni), Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris), and Crested Lark (Galerida cristata). The only human inhabitants of Ala-shan are the Torguud Mongols.
The Gobi is also home to the rare Bactrian camel. This eats snow to maintain its fluid level and must limit itself to 10 litres a day of snow if it is not to prove fatal. Poaching has made these animals highly fearful of people.[2]
[edit] Junggar Basin semi-desert
The Yulduz valley or valley of the Haidag-gol (43° N 83°-86° E) is a mini desert enclosed by two prominent members of the Shanashen Trahen Osh mountain range, namely the chucis and the kracenard pine rallies, running perpendicular and far from one another. As they proceed south they transend and transpose, sweeping back on east and west, respectively so as to leave room for the Baghrash-kol. These two ranges mark the northern and the southern edges respectively of a great swelling, which extends eastward for nearly twenty degrees of longitude. On its northern side the Chol-tagh descends steeply, and its foot is fringed by a string of deep depressions, ranging from Lukchun (130 m (427 ft) below sea level) to Hami (850 m (2,789 ft) above sea-level). To the south of the Kuruk-tagh lie the desert of Lop (= desert of Lop Nur), the desert of Kum-tagh, and the valley of the Bulunzir-gol. To this great swelling, which arches up between the two border-ranges of the Chol-tagh and Kuruk-tagh, the Mongols give the name of Ghashuun-Gobi or Salt Desert. It is some 130 to 160 km across from north to south, and is traversed by a number of minor parallel ranges, ridges and chains of hills, and down its middle runs a broad stony valley, 40-80 km wide, at an elevation of 900 to 1370 m. The Chol-tagh, which reaches an average altitude of 1800 m, is absolutely sterile, and its northern foot rests upon a narrow belt of barren sand, which leads down to the depressions mentioned above.
The Kuruk-tagh is the greatly disintegrated, denuded and wasted relic of a mountain range which formerly was of incomparably greater magnitude. In the west, between Baghrash-kol and the Tarim, it consists of two, possibly of three, principal ranges, which, although broken in continuity, run generally parallel to one another, and embrace between them numerous minor chains of heights. These minor ranges, together with the principal ranges, divide the region into a series of long; narrow valleys, mostly parallel to one another and to the enclosing mountain chains, which descend like terraced steps, on the one side towards the depression of Lukchun and on the other towards the desert of Lop. In many cases these latitudinal valleys are barred transversely by ridges or spurs, generally elevations en masse of the bottom of the valley. Where such elevations exist, there is generally found, on the east side of the transverse ridge, a cauldron-shaped depression, which some time or other has been the bottom of a former lake, but is now nearly a dry salt-basin. The surface configuration is in fact markedly similar to that which occurs in the inter-mount latitudinal valleys of the Kunlun Mountains. The hydrography of the Ghashiun-Gobi and the Kuruk-tagh is determined by these chequered arrangements of the latitudinal valleys. Most of the principal streams, instead of flowing straight down these valleys, cross them diagonally and only turn west after they have cut their way through one or more of the transverse barrier ranges. To the highest range on the great swelling Gruni-Grzhimailo gives the name of Tuge-tau, its altitude being 2,700 m (8,858 ft) above the level of the sea and some 1,200 m (3,937 ft) above the crown of the swelling itself. This range he considers to belong to the Choltagh system, whereas Sven Hedin would assign it to the Kuruk-tagh. This last, which is pretty certainly identical with the range of Kharateken-ula (also known as the Kyzyl-sanghir, Sinir, and Singher Mountains), that overlooks the southern shore of the Baghrash-kol, though parted from it by the drift-sand desert of Ak-bel-kum (White Pass Sands), has at first a westnorthwest to eastsoutheast strike, but it gradually curves round like a scimitar towards the eastnortheast and at the same time gradually decreases in elevation. In 91° east, while the principal range of the Kuruk-tagh system wheels to the eastnortheast, four of its subsidiary ranges terminate, or rather die away somewhat suddenly, on the brink of a long narrow depression (in which Sven Hedin sees a northeast bay of the former great Central Asian lake of Lop-nor), having over against them the écheloned terminals of similar subordinate ranges of the Pe-shan (Boy-san) system (see below). The Kuruk-tagh is throughout a relatively low, but almost completely barren range, being entirely destitute of animal life, save for hares, antelopes and wild camels, which frequent its few small, widely scattered oases. The vegetation, which is confined to these same relatively favoured spots, is of the scantiest and is mainly confined to bushes of saxaul (Haloxylon), Anabasis, reeds (kamish), tamarisks, poplars, and Ephedra.
[edit] European exploration up to 1911
The Gobi had a long history of human habitation, mostly by nomadic peoples. By the early 20th century the region was under the nominal control of China, and inhabited mostly by Mongols, Uyghurs, and Kazakhs. The Gobi desert as a whole was only very imperfectly known to outsiders, information being confined to the observations which individual travellers had made from their respective itineraries across the desert. Amongst the European explorers who contributed to early 20th century understanding of the Gobi, the most important were:
Jean-François Gerbillon (1688-1698)
Eberhard Isbrand Ides (1692-1694)
Lorenz Lange (1727-1728 and 1736)
Fuss and Alexander G. von Bunge (1830-1831)
Hermann Fritsche (1868-1873)
Pavlinov and Z.L. Matusovski (1870)
Ney Elias (1872-1873)
Nikolai Przhevalsky (1870-1872 and 1876-1877)
Zosnovsky (1875)
Mikhail V. Pevtsov (1878)
Grigory N. Potanin (1877 and 1884-1886)
Count Béla Széchenyi and Lajos Lóczy (1879-1880)
The brothers G. E. Grumm-Grshimailo (1889-1890)and ? Grumm-Grshimailo.
Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov (1893-1894 and 1899-1900)
Vsevolod I. Roborovsky (1894)
Vladimir Obruchev (1894- 1896)
Karl Josef Futterer and Dr. Holderer (1896)
Charles-Etienne Bonin (1896 and 1899)
Sven Hedin (1897 and 1900-1901)
K. Bogdanovich (1898)
Ladyghin (1899-1900) and Katsnakov (1899-1900)
[edit] See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Gobi DesertGeography of China
Geography of Mongolia
Battle of Ikh Bayan
List of deserts by area
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Gobi)• Ten things you may not know about Wikipedia •Jump to: navigation, search
This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes.
Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies.
This article is largely based on the article in the out-of-copyright 11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, which was produced in 1911. It should be brought up to date to reflect subsequent history or scholarship (including the references, if any). When you have completed the review, replace this notice with a simple note on this article's talk page. Thanks!
Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article.
The Gobi Desert lies in the territory of the People's Republic of China and the Country of Mongolia.
The part of Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China
Gobi Desert landscape in Ömnögovi Province, Mongolia.
Bactrian camels by the sand dunes of Khongoryn Els, Gurvansaikhan NP, Mongolia.The Gobi (Chinese: 戈壁(沙漠) Gēbì (Shāmò); Mongolian: Говь, Govi or Gov', meaning, gravel-covered plain) is a large desert region in China and southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altay Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Tibetan Plateau to the southwest, and by the North China Plain to the southeast. The Gobi is made up of several distinct ecological and geographic regions based on variations in climate and topography This desert is both Asia's largest and the fourth largest in the world
The Gobi is most notable in history as part of the great Mongol Empire, and as the location of several important cities along the Silk Road.
The Gobi is a rain shadow desert formed by the Himalaya range blocking rain-carrying clouds from reaching the Gobi.
Contents [hide]
1 Geography
2 Climate
2.1 Climate (as of 1911)
3 Conservation, ecology, economy
4 Desertification
5 Ecoregions of the Gobi
5.1 Eastern Gobi desert steppe
5.2 Ala Shan Plateau semi-desert
5.3 Junggar Basin semi-desert
6 European exploration up to 1911
7 See also
8 Notes
9 Further reading
10 External links
[edit] Geography
The Gobi measures over 1,500 km (932 mi) from southwest to northeast and 800 km (497 mi) from north to south. The desert is widest in the west, along the line joining the Baghrash Kol and the Lop Nor (87°-89° east). It occupies an arc of land 1,295,000 km² (500,002 sq mi)[1] in area, making it fourth largest in the world and Asia's largest. Much of the Gobi is not sandy but is covered with bare rock.
The Gobi has several alternative Chinese names, including 沙漠 (shāmò, actually a generic term for deserts in general) and 旱海 (hànhǎi, dry sea). In its broadest definition, the Gobi includes the long stretch of desert and semidesert country extending from the foot of the Pamirs, 77° east, to the Greater Khingan Mountains, 116°-118° east, on the border of Manchuria; and from the foothills of the Altay, Sayan, and Yablonoi mountain ranges on the north to the Kunlun Shan, Altun Shan, and Qilian shan ranges, which form the northern edges of the Tibetan Plateau, on the south.
A relatively large area on the east side of the Greater Khingan range, between the upper waters of the Songhua (Sungari) and the upper waters of the Liao-ho, is also reckoned to belong to the Gobi by conventional usage. On the other hand, geographers and ecologists prefer to regard the western area of the Gobi region (as defined above), the basin of the Tarim in Xinjiang and the desert basin of Lop Nor and Hami (Kumul) as forming a separate and independent desert, called the Taklamakan Desert.
The Nemegt Basin in the northwestern part of the Gobi Desert (in Mongolia) is famous for its dinosaur fossil treasures.
[edit] Climate
The Gobi desert is a cold desert, and it is not uncommon to see frost and occasionally snow on its dunes. Besides being quite far north, it is also roughly 900 meters (2,953 ft) above sea level, which further contributes to its low temperatures. An average of approximately 194 millimeters (7.6 in) of rain falls per year in the Gobi. Additional moisture reaches parts of the Gobi in winter as snow is blown by the wind from the Siberian Steppes. These winds cause the Gobi to reach extremes of temperature like no other, ranging from –40°C in Winter to +50°C in Summer. [2]
[edit] Climate (as of 1911)
The climate of the Gobi is one of great extremes, combined with rapid changes of temperature, not only through the year but even within 24 hours (by as much as 32 °C or 58 °F).
Temperature Ulaanbaatar (1150 m) Sivantse (1190 m)
Annual mean -2.5 °C (27 °F) +2.8 °C (37 °F)
January mean -26.5 °C (-15.7 °F) -16.5 °C (2 °F)
July mean 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) 19.0 °C (66 °F)
Extremes 38.0 °C and -43 °C (100 °F and -45 °F) 33.9 °C and -47 °C (93 °F and -52 °F)
Even in southern Mongolia the thermometer goes down as low as -32.8 °C (-27 °F), and in Ala-shan it rises as high as 37 °C (98.6 °F) in July.
Average winter minimals are a frigid -40 °C (-40 °F) while summertime temperatures are warm to hot, highs range up to 50 °C (112 °F). Most of the precipitation falls during the summer.
Although the southeast monsoons reach the southeast parts of the Gobi, the area throughout this region is generally characterized by extreme dryness, especially during the winter. Hence, the icy sandstorms and snowstorms of spring and early summer plus early January (winter)
[edit] Conservation, ecology, economy
The Gobi Desert is the source of many important fossil finds, including the first dinosaur eggs.
These deserts and the surrounding regions sustain many animals, including black-tailed gazelles, marbled polecats, and sandplovers, and are occasionally visited by snow leopards, brown bears, and wolves. The desert features a number of drought-adapted shrubs such as gray sparrow's saltwort, gray sagebrush, and low grasses such as needle grass and bridlegrass.
The area is vulnerable to trampling by livestock and off-road vehicles (human impacts are greater in the eastern Gobi Desert, where rainfall is heavier and may sustain livestock). In Mongolia, grasslands have been degraded by goats, raised by nomadic herders as source of cashmere wool. Economic trends of livestock privatization and the collapse of the urban economy have caused people to return to rural lifestyles, a movement contrary to urbanization. This movement has resulted in a great increase of nomadic herder population and livestock raising.
Large copper and gold deposits are located at Oyuu Tolgoi, about 80 kilometers from the Chinese border into Mongolia and the feasibility of setting up a mining operation is being investigated.[1]
[edit] Desertification
Currently, the Gobi desert is expanding at an impressive rate, in a process known as desertification. The expansion is particularly rapid on the southern edge into China, which has seen 3,600 km² (1,390 sq mi) of grassland overtaken every year by the Gobi Desert. This loss of farmland has caused an estimated $50 billion in losses each year for China's economy. Dust storms, which were once a rarity, are springing up all over China, and could cause even further damage to China's agriculture economy.
The expansion of the Gobi is attributed mostly to human activities, notably deforestation, overgrazing, overconsumption of water resources, and global warming. China has made various plans to try to slow the expansion of the desert, which have met with some small degree of success, but usually have no major impact. The most recent plan involves the planting of the Green Wall of China, a huge ring of newly-planted forests that the Chinese government hopes will act as a buffer against further expansion.
[edit] Ecoregions of the Gobi
The Gobi, broadly defined, can be divided into five distinct dry ecoregions.
The 'Eastern Gobi desert steppe' is the easternmost of the Gobi ecoregions, covering an area of 281,800 km² (108,804 sq mi). It extends from the Inner Mongolian Plateau in China northward into Mongolia. It includes the Yin Mountains and many low-lying areas with salt pans and small ponds. It is bounded by the Mongolian-Manchurian grassland to the north, the Yellow River Plain to the southeast, and the Alashan Plateau semi-desert to the southeast and east.
The Alashan Plateau semi-desert lies west and southwest of the Eastern Gobi desert steppe. It consists of the desert basins and low mountains lying between the Gobi Altay range on the north, the Helan Mountains to the southeast, and the Qilian Mountains and northeastern portion of the Tibetan Plateau on the southwest.
The Gobi Lakes Valley desert steppe ecoregion lies north of Alashan Plateau semi-desert, between the Gobi Altay range to the south and the Khangai Mountains to the north.
The Junggar Basin semi-desert includes the desert basin lying between the Altay mountains on the north and the Tian Shan range on the south. It includes the northern portion of China's Xinjiang province and extends into the southeastern corner of Mongolia. The Alashan Plateau semi-desert lies to the east, and the Emin Valley steppe to the west, on the China-Kazakhstan border.
The Tian Shan range separates the Junggar Basin semi-desert from the Taklamakan Desert, which is a low, sandy desert basin surrounded by the high mountain ranges of the Tibetan Plateau to the south and the Pamirs to the west. The Taklamakan Desert ecoregion includes the Desert of Lop.
[edit] Eastern Gobi desert steppe
Here the surface is extremely diversified, although there are no great differences in vertical elevation. Between Ulaanbaatar (48° N 107° E) and the little lake of Iren-dubasu-nor (43°45′N, 111°50′E ) the surface is greatly eroded, and consists of broad flat depressions and basins separated by groups of flat-topped mountains of relatively low elevation (150-180 m), through which archaic rocks crop out as crags and isolated rugged masses. The floors of the depressions lie mostly between 900-1000 m above sea-level. Farther south, between Iren-dutiasu-nor and the Hwang-ho comes a region of broad tablelands alternating with flat plains, the latter ranging at altitudes of 1000-1100 m and the former at 1070-1200 m. The slopes of the plateaus are more or less steep, and are sometimes penetrated by "bays" of the lowlands. As the border-range of the Hyangan is approached, the country steadily rises up to 1370 m and then to 1630 m. Here small lakes frequently fill the depressions, though the water in them is generally salt or brackish. Both here and for 320 km (199 mi) south of Ulaanbaatar, streams are frequent and grass grows more or less abundantly. There is, however, through all the central parts, until the bordering mountains are reached, an utter absence of trees and shrubs. Clay and sand are the predominant formations, the watercourses, especially in the north, being frequently excavated 2-3 m deep, and in many places in the flat, dry valleys or depressions farther south beds of loess, 5-6 m thick, are exposed. West of the route from Ulaanbaatar to Kalgan the country presents approximately the same general features, except that the mountains are not so irregularly scattered in groups but have more strongly defined strikes, mostly east to west, west-north-west to east-south-east, and west-south-west to east-north-east.
The altitudes too are higher, those of the lowlands ranging from 1000-1700 m, and those of the ranges from 200-500 m higher, though in a few cases they reach altitudes of 2400 m. The elevations do not, however, form continuous chains, but make up a congeries of short ridges and groups rising from a common base and intersected by a labyrinth of ravines, gullies, glens and basins. But the tablelards, built up of the horizontal red deposits of the Han-gai (Ohruchev's Gobi formation) which are characteristic of the southern parts of eastern Mongolia, are absent here or occur only in one locality, near the Shara-muren river, and are then greatly intersected by gullies or dry watercourses. Here there is, however, a great dearth of water, no streams, no lakes, no wells, arid precipitation falls but seldom. The prevailing winds blow from the west and northwest and the pall of dust overhangs the country as in the Takla Makan and the desert of Lop. Characteristic of the flora are wild garlic, Kalidium gracile, wormwood, saxaul, Nitraria schoberi, Caragana, Ephedra, saltwort and the grass Lasiagrostis splendens. The taana wild onion Allium polyrrhizum is the main browse eaten by many herd animals, and Mongolians claim that this is essential to produce the correct, slightly hazelnut-like flavour of camel airag (fermented milk).
This great desert country of Gobi is crossed by several trade routes, some of which have been in use for thousands of years. Among the most important are those from Kalgan on the frontier of China to Ulaanbaatar (960 km (597 mi)), from Suzhou (in Gansu) to Hami 670 km (416 mi) from Hami to Beijing (2,000 km (1,243 mi)), from Kwei-hwa-cheng (or Kuku-khoto) to Hami and Barkul, and from Lanzhou (in Gansu) to Hami.
[edit] Ala Shan Plateau semi-desert
The southwestern portion of the Gobi, known also as the Hsi-tau and the Little Gobi, fills the space between the great north loop of the Huang He or Yellow river on the east, the Edzin-gol on the west, and the Qilian Mountains and narrow rocky chain of Longshou (Ala-shan), 3200-3500 m in altitude, on the southwest. The Ordos Desert, which covers the northeastern portion of the Ordos Plateau, in the great north loop of the Huang He, is part of this ecoregion. It belongs to the middle basin of the three great depressions into which Potanin divides the Gobi as a whole. "Topographically," says Przhevalsky, "it is a perfectly level plain, which in all probability once formed the bed of a huge lake or inland sea." The data upon which he bases this conclusion are the level area of the region as a whole, the hard saldgine clay and the sand-strewn surface, and lastly the salt lakes which occupy its lowest parts. For hundreds of kilometers there is nothing to be seen but bare sands; in some places they continue so far without a break that the Mongols call them Tengger (i.e. sky). These vast expanses are absolutely waterless, nor do any oases relieve the unbroken stretches of yellow sand which alternate with equally vast areas of saline clay or, nearer the foot of the mountains, with barren shingle. Although on the whole a level country with a general altitude of 1000 to 1500 m, this section, like most other parts of the Gobi, is crowned by a chequered network of hills and broken ranges going up 300 m higher. The vegetation is confined to a few varieties of bushes and a dozen kinds of grasses and herbs, the most conspicuous being saxaul (Haloxylon ammondendron) and Agriophyllum gobicum. The others include prickly convolvulus, field wormwood (Artemisia campestris), acacia, Inula ammophila, Sophora flavescens, Convolvulus ammanii, Peganum and Astragalus, but all dwarfed, deformed and starved. The fauna consists of little else except antelopes, the wolf, fox, hare, hedgehog, marten, numerous lizards and a few birds, e.g. the sandgrouse, lark, stonechat, sparrow, crane, Henderson's Ground Jay (Podoces hendersoni), Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris), and Crested Lark (Galerida cristata). The only human inhabitants of Ala-shan are the Torguud Mongols.
The Gobi is also home to the rare Bactrian camel. This eats snow to maintain its fluid level and must limit itself to 10 litres a day of snow if it is not to prove fatal. Poaching has made these animals highly fearful of people.[2]
[edit] Junggar Basin semi-desert
The Yulduz valley or valley of the Haidag-gol (43° N 83°-86° E) is a mini desert enclosed by two prominent members of the Shanashen Trahen Osh mountain range, namely the chucis and the kracenard pine rallies, running perpendicular and far from one another. As they proceed south they transend and transpose, sweeping back on east and west, respectively so as to leave room for the Baghrash-kol. These two ranges mark the northern and the southern edges respectively of a great swelling, which extends eastward for nearly twenty degrees of longitude. On its northern side the Chol-tagh descends steeply, and its foot is fringed by a string of deep depressions, ranging from Lukchun (130 m (427 ft) below sea level) to Hami (850 m (2,789 ft) above sea-level). To the south of the Kuruk-tagh lie the desert of Lop (= desert of Lop Nur), the desert of Kum-tagh, and the valley of the Bulunzir-gol. To this great swelling, which arches up between the two border-ranges of the Chol-tagh and Kuruk-tagh, the Mongols give the name of Ghashuun-Gobi or Salt Desert. It is some 130 to 160 km across from north to south, and is traversed by a number of minor parallel ranges, ridges and chains of hills, and down its middle runs a broad stony valley, 40-80 km wide, at an elevation of 900 to 1370 m. The Chol-tagh, which reaches an average altitude of 1800 m, is absolutely sterile, and its northern foot rests upon a narrow belt of barren sand, which leads down to the depressions mentioned above.
The Kuruk-tagh is the greatly disintegrated, denuded and wasted relic of a mountain range which formerly was of incomparably greater magnitude. In the west, between Baghrash-kol and the Tarim, it consists of two, possibly of three, principal ranges, which, although broken in continuity, run generally parallel to one another, and embrace between them numerous minor chains of heights. These minor ranges, together with the principal ranges, divide the region into a series of long; narrow valleys, mostly parallel to one another and to the enclosing mountain chains, which descend like terraced steps, on the one side towards the depression of Lukchun and on the other towards the desert of Lop. In many cases these latitudinal valleys are barred transversely by ridges or spurs, generally elevations en masse of the bottom of the valley. Where such elevations exist, there is generally found, on the east side of the transverse ridge, a cauldron-shaped depression, which some time or other has been the bottom of a former lake, but is now nearly a dry salt-basin. The surface configuration is in fact markedly similar to that which occurs in the inter-mount latitudinal valleys of the Kunlun Mountains. The hydrography of the Ghashiun-Gobi and the Kuruk-tagh is determined by these chequered arrangements of the latitudinal valleys. Most of the principal streams, instead of flowing straight down these valleys, cross them diagonally and only turn west after they have cut their way through one or more of the transverse barrier ranges. To the highest range on the great swelling Gruni-Grzhimailo gives the name of Tuge-tau, its altitude being 2,700 m (8,858 ft) above the level of the sea and some 1,200 m (3,937 ft) above the crown of the swelling itself. This range he considers to belong to the Choltagh system, whereas Sven Hedin would assign it to the Kuruk-tagh. This last, which is pretty certainly identical with the range of Kharateken-ula (also known as the Kyzyl-sanghir, Sinir, and Singher Mountains), that overlooks the southern shore of the Baghrash-kol, though parted from it by the drift-sand desert of Ak-bel-kum (White Pass Sands), has at first a westnorthwest to eastsoutheast strike, but it gradually curves round like a scimitar towards the eastnortheast and at the same time gradually decreases in elevation. In 91° east, while the principal range of the Kuruk-tagh system wheels to the eastnortheast, four of its subsidiary ranges terminate, or rather die away somewhat suddenly, on the brink of a long narrow depression (in which Sven Hedin sees a northeast bay of the former great Central Asian lake of Lop-nor), having over against them the écheloned terminals of similar subordinate ranges of the Pe-shan (Boy-san) system (see below). The Kuruk-tagh is throughout a relatively low, but almost completely barren range, being entirely destitute of animal life, save for hares, antelopes and wild camels, which frequent its few small, widely scattered oases. The vegetation, which is confined to these same relatively favoured spots, is of the scantiest and is mainly confined to bushes of saxaul (Haloxylon), Anabasis, reeds (kamish), tamarisks, poplars, and Ephedra.
[edit] European exploration up to 1911
The Gobi had a long history of human habitation, mostly by nomadic peoples. By the early 20th century the region was under the nominal control of China, and inhabited mostly by Mongols, Uyghurs, and Kazakhs. The Gobi desert as a whole was only very imperfectly known to outsiders, information being confined to the observations which individual travellers had made from their respective itineraries across the desert. Amongst the European explorers who contributed to early 20th century understanding of the Gobi, the most important were:
Jean-François Gerbillon (1688-1698)
Eberhard Isbrand Ides (1692-1694)
Lorenz Lange (1727-1728 and 1736)
Fuss and Alexander G. von Bunge (1830-1831)
Hermann Fritsche (1868-1873)
Pavlinov and Z.L. Matusovski (1870)
Ney Elias (1872-1873)
Nikolai Przhevalsky (1870-1872 and 1876-1877)
Zosnovsky (1875)
Mikhail V. Pevtsov (1878)
Grigory N. Potanin (1877 and 1884-1886)
Count Béla Széchenyi and Lajos Lóczy (1879-1880)
The brothers G. E. Grumm-Grshimailo (1889-1890)and ? Grumm-Grshimailo.
Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov (1893-1894 and 1899-1900)
Vsevolod I. Roborovsky (1894)
Vladimir Obruchev (1894- 1896)
Karl Josef Futterer and Dr. Holderer (1896)
Charles-Etienne Bonin (1896 and 1899)
Sven Hedin (1897 and 1900-1901)
K. Bogdanovich (1898)
Ladyghin (1899-1900) and Katsnakov (1899-1900)
[edit] See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Gobi DesertGeography of China
Geography of Mongolia
Battle of Ikh Bayan
List of deserts by area
Mongolia
Mongolia
It may feel like bygone times, but you can still find sushi if you want.
At a Glance Fast Facts
WORLDGUIDE
Introduction
Background Info
See
Image Gallery
Transport
Money
RELATED
Thorn Tree Forum
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Travel Links
View Map
Click here The name 'Mongolia' has always stirred up visions of the untamed - Genghis Khan, camels wandering the Gobi Desert and wild horses galloping across the steppes. Even today, outside of Ulaanbaatar you may get the feeling you've stepped into another century rather than another country.
When To Go
The travel season is typically from May to early October, though Ulaanbaatar can be visited any time of year if you can tolerate the bitter cold. Early July has the best weather for the northern part of the country and is also the time to celebrate Mongolia's Naadam Festival. Unfortunately, this is the peak tourist season, when Ulaanbaatar's inadequate accommodation and creaky transport is stretched to breaking point. The rainy season, from late July through August, cools things down and the turn the countryside to green, but will also turn jeep trails into muck. Rains in the north also bring biting flies and mosquitoes. June and September are both pleasant times to visit, and attract fewer visitors.
The best months to visit the Gobi Desert and not get toasted are September and October. Be aware that between mid-October and mid-May sudden snowstorms and extreme cold can ground flights, block roads and cause the country's transport system to stall. Mongolians, especially nomads, consider March and April the worst months. After the long winter, livestock will already be thin, and a lack of rain means many will die, causing financial and psychological hardship. Staying with a nomad family at this time is not recommended if the spring is a harsh one.
It may feel like bygone times, but you can still find sushi if you want.
At a Glance Fast Facts
WORLDGUIDE
Introduction
Background Info
See
Image Gallery
Transport
Money
RELATED
Thorn Tree Forum
Tips From Travellers
Travel Links
View Map
Click here The name 'Mongolia' has always stirred up visions of the untamed - Genghis Khan, camels wandering the Gobi Desert and wild horses galloping across the steppes. Even today, outside of Ulaanbaatar you may get the feeling you've stepped into another century rather than another country.
When To Go
The travel season is typically from May to early October, though Ulaanbaatar can be visited any time of year if you can tolerate the bitter cold. Early July has the best weather for the northern part of the country and is also the time to celebrate Mongolia's Naadam Festival. Unfortunately, this is the peak tourist season, when Ulaanbaatar's inadequate accommodation and creaky transport is stretched to breaking point. The rainy season, from late July through August, cools things down and the turn the countryside to green, but will also turn jeep trails into muck. Rains in the north also bring biting flies and mosquitoes. June and September are both pleasant times to visit, and attract fewer visitors.
The best months to visit the Gobi Desert and not get toasted are September and October. Be aware that between mid-October and mid-May sudden snowstorms and extreme cold can ground flights, block roads and cause the country's transport system to stall. Mongolians, especially nomads, consider March and April the worst months. After the long winter, livestock will already be thin, and a lack of rain means many will die, causing financial and psychological hardship. Staying with a nomad family at this time is not recommended if the spring is a harsh one.
Ulan Bator , Mongolia
Ulan Bator
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Ulaanbaatar
Улаанбаатар, Ulaɣan Baɣatur
Ulan Bator
Ulaanbaatar, September 2004
Flag
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 47°55′N 106°55′E / 47.917, 106.917
Established as Örgöö 1639
current location 1778
Ulaanbaatar 1924
Area
- City 4,704.4 km² (1,816.3 sq mi)
Elevation 1,350 m (4,429 ft)
Population (April 14th, 2007)[1]
- City 1,000,000
- Density 213/km² (550/sq mi)
Time zone H (UTC+8)
Postal code 210 xxx
Area code(s) +976 (0)11
License plate УБ_ (_ variable)
ISO 3166-2 MN-1
Website: http://www.ulaanbaatar.mn/
For the band, see Ulan Bator (band).
Ulan Bator, or Ulaanbaatar (Mongolian: Улаанбаатар, Classical Mongolian: ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨ ᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠤᠷ [Ulaɣan Baɣatur]), is the capital of Mongolia.
Ulan Bator has had numerous names in its history. From 1639–1706, it was known as Örgöö (Mongolian: Өргөө, residence), and from 1706–1911 as Ikh Khüree, Da Khüree or simply Khüree (Mongolian: Их = "great", Хүрээ = "camp"). Its Chinese name was Kulun (traditional Chinese: 庫倫; simplified Chinese: 库伦; pinyin: Kùlún). Upon independence in 1911, with both the secular government and the Bogd Khan's palace present, the city's name changed to Niislel Khüree (Mongolian: Нийслэл = "capital").
When the city became the capital of the new Mongolian People's Republic in 1924, its name was changed to Ulaanbaatar ("red hero"), in honor of Mongolia's national hero Damdin Sükhbaatar, whose warriors liberated Mongolia from Ungern von Sternberg's troops and Chinese occupation shoulder-to-shoulder with the Soviet Red Army. His statue still adorns Ulan Bator's central square.
In Europe and North America, Ulan Bator was generally known as Urga (after the Russian form for Örgöö) or sometimes Kuren before 1924, and Ulan Bator afterwards, after the Russian: Улан-Батор. The Russian spelling is different from the Mongolian because it was defined phonetically, and the Cyrillic script was only introduced in Mongolia seventeen years later.
Contents [hide]
1 Geography
2 History
3 Administration and Subdivisions
4 Transportation
5 Colleges and universities
6 Description
7 Sister Cities
8 Embassies
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
[edit] Geography
Ulan Bator is located at about 1350 meters (4430 feet) above sea level, slightly east of the center of Mongolia on the Tuul River, a subtributary of the Selenge, in a valley at the foot of the mountain Bogd Khan Uul.
Due to its high elevation, relatively high latitude, and location hundreds of kilometres from any coast, Ulan Bator is the coldest national capital in the world, with a monsoon-influenced subarctic climate (Koppen climate classification Dwc) with brief, warm summers and long, very cold and dry winters. It has an average annual temperature of -1.3°C (29.7°F). The city lies in the zone of sporadic permafrost, which means that building is difficult in sheltered aspects that preclude thawing in the summer, but easier on more exposed ones where soils fully thaw. Suburban residents live in traditional gers that do not protrude into the soil.[2]
Average temperature and precipitation in Ulaanbaatar
The Academic Theatre of Drama in Ulaanbaatar
Traffic in Ulaanbaatar
[edit] History
Founded in 1639, Ulan Bator, then Örgöö (Urga), was originally located at the lake Shireet Tsagaan nuur, around 400 km from the present Ulan Bator in Övörkhangai Province, and was mainly intended to be the seat of the first Jebtsundamba, Zanabazar.
It was moved often to various places along the Selenge, Orkhon and Tuul rivers until reaching its present location in the late 18th century, on the high road from Beijing to Kyakhta, about 700 miles northwest of Beijing and 165 miles south of the trading town of Kyakhta on the Russian frontier. It was the holy city of the Mongols and the residence of the "Living Buddha," metropolitan of the Khalkha tribes, who ranked third in degree of veneration among the dignitaries of the lamaist clergy. This "resplendently divine lama" resided in a palace on the southern side of the town. The town prospered in the 1860s as a commercial center on the tea route between Russia and China (early 20th-century trade was valued at over 1,000,000 dollars a year) and was the seat of the Qing Amban (highest imperial official) in Mongolia, who controlled all temporal matters and was specially charged with the control of the frontier trade town of Kyakhta and its trade with Russia.
In 1904, on the occasion of the British expedition to Tibet, the Dalai Lama withdrew from his Tibetan capital Lhasa and went to Ikh Khüree (as it was named at the time), where he remained until 1908. During his residence there, the Dalai Lama would have no communication with the incumbent Bogd Khan who was described as a "drunken profligate".[3]
After Mongolia first proclaimed its independence, upon the collapse of the Manchu Empire in 1911, the city became the capital of the new Mongolian People's Republic in 1924 under its new name Ulaanbaatar.
[edit] Administration and Subdivisions
Main article: Düüreg
Ulan Bator is divided into nine districts (Düüregs): Baganuur, Bagakhangai, Bayangol, Bayanzurkh, Chingeltei, Khan Uul, Nalaikh, Songino Khairkhan, and Sühbaatar. Each district is subdivided into Khoroos.
The capital is governed by a city council (the Citizen's Representatives Hural) with forty members, elected every four years. The city council appoints the mayor. The current mayor is Tsogt Batbayar, who is also the governor of Central Province, i.e. Töv Aimag, which surrounds the municipality of Ulaanbaatar.
[edit] Transportation
Ulaanbaatar train stationInterurban and international: Ulan Bator is served by the Chinggis Khaan International Airport (formerly Buyant Ukhaa Airport) and is connected by road (mostly unpaved and unmarked) to most of the major towns in Mongolia. There are rail connections to the Trans-Siberian railway via Naushki and to the Chinese railroad system via Jining.
Intra-urban: The national and municipal governments regulate a wide system of private transit providers which operate numerous bus lines around the city. Many of these buses are antiquated Soviet vehicles, though Japan and Korea have recently donated and sold modern busses to the city. A secondary transit system of microbusses (passenger vans) operates alongside these bus lines and competes directly, though generally illegally. In the last few years the city licensed an increasing number of marked taxicabs. However, most drivers in the city offer unregulated and occasional (informal) taxicab service to anyone who signals them.
Costs: Bus fares are regulated at about 200 tugrig; microbusses charge about 400 tugrig; taxicab fares are metered. Informal taxicab rates are negotiated before services are rendered and were around 350 MNT/km in 2006.
[edit] Colleges and universities
Ulan Bator has five major universities: the National University of Mongolia, Science and Technological University of Mongolia, University of Health and Medical Science, Pedagogical University, and University of Art and Culture. There are also private and public colleges. A historical library contains a wealth of ancient Mongolian, Chinese, and Tibetan manuscripts.
[edit] Description
Parliament building, Sühbaatar Square, July 2006The city consists of a central district built in Soviet 1940s and 1950s-style architecture, surrounded by and mingled with residential concrete towerblocks and larger ger quarters. In recent years, a lot of the towerblock's ground floors have been modified and upgraded to small shops, and many new buildings have been erected, some of them illegally. Among the few pre-1920 buildings is the Choijin Lama Monastery. The main sites are:
Natural History Museum. Features many dinosaur fossils found in Mongolia.
National Museum of Mongolian History
Gandantegchinlen Khiid Monastery, with a 25-meter-high statue of Migjid Janraisig
The Bogd Khan's Winter Palace
Ulaanbaatar Opera House
The Zaisan Memorial, a memorial to Russian soldiers killed in World War II, which sits on a hill south of the city. The Zaisan Memorial includes a Russian tank paid for by the Mongolian people and a circular memorial painting which depicts scenes of friendship between the peoples of Russia and Mongolia. Visitors who make the long climb to the top are rewarded with a panoramic view of the whole city down in the valley.
Sükhbaatar Square, in the government district. In the center of Sükhbaatar Square, there is a statue of Damdin Sükhbaatar on horseback. On the north side of Sükhbaatar Square is the Mongolian Parliament building, featuring a large statue of Chinggis Khan at the top of the front steps.
National Sports Stadium. The Naadam festival is held here every July.
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, a nature preserve with many tourist facilities, approximately 70 km from Ulan Bator.
[edit] Sister Cities
Tianjin, People's Republic of China
Taipei, Taiwan
Seoul, South Korea
Denver, Colorado, USA
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Miyakonojo, Miyazaki, Japan
Leeds, United Kingdom (according to a 2005 Calendar broadcast).
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Ulaanbaatar)• Find out more about navigating Wikipedia and finding information •Jump to: navigation, search
Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article.
Ulaanbaatar
Улаанбаатар, Ulaɣan Baɣatur
Ulan Bator
Ulaanbaatar, September 2004
Flag
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 47°55′N 106°55′E / 47.917, 106.917
Established as Örgöö 1639
current location 1778
Ulaanbaatar 1924
Area
- City 4,704.4 km² (1,816.3 sq mi)
Elevation 1,350 m (4,429 ft)
Population (April 14th, 2007)[1]
- City 1,000,000
- Density 213/km² (550/sq mi)
Time zone H (UTC+8)
Postal code 210 xxx
Area code(s) +976 (0)11
License plate УБ_ (_ variable)
ISO 3166-2 MN-1
Website: http://www.ulaanbaatar.mn/
For the band, see Ulan Bator (band).
Ulan Bator, or Ulaanbaatar (Mongolian: Улаанбаатар, Classical Mongolian: ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨ ᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠤᠷ [Ulaɣan Baɣatur]), is the capital of Mongolia.
Ulan Bator has had numerous names in its history. From 1639–1706, it was known as Örgöö (Mongolian: Өргөө, residence), and from 1706–1911 as Ikh Khüree, Da Khüree or simply Khüree (Mongolian: Их = "great", Хүрээ = "camp"). Its Chinese name was Kulun (traditional Chinese: 庫倫; simplified Chinese: 库伦; pinyin: Kùlún). Upon independence in 1911, with both the secular government and the Bogd Khan's palace present, the city's name changed to Niislel Khüree (Mongolian: Нийслэл = "capital").
When the city became the capital of the new Mongolian People's Republic in 1924, its name was changed to Ulaanbaatar ("red hero"), in honor of Mongolia's national hero Damdin Sükhbaatar, whose warriors liberated Mongolia from Ungern von Sternberg's troops and Chinese occupation shoulder-to-shoulder with the Soviet Red Army. His statue still adorns Ulan Bator's central square.
In Europe and North America, Ulan Bator was generally known as Urga (after the Russian form for Örgöö) or sometimes Kuren before 1924, and Ulan Bator afterwards, after the Russian: Улан-Батор. The Russian spelling is different from the Mongolian because it was defined phonetically, and the Cyrillic script was only introduced in Mongolia seventeen years later.
Contents [hide]
1 Geography
2 History
3 Administration and Subdivisions
4 Transportation
5 Colleges and universities
6 Description
7 Sister Cities
8 Embassies
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
[edit] Geography
Ulan Bator is located at about 1350 meters (4430 feet) above sea level, slightly east of the center of Mongolia on the Tuul River, a subtributary of the Selenge, in a valley at the foot of the mountain Bogd Khan Uul.
Due to its high elevation, relatively high latitude, and location hundreds of kilometres from any coast, Ulan Bator is the coldest national capital in the world, with a monsoon-influenced subarctic climate (Koppen climate classification Dwc) with brief, warm summers and long, very cold and dry winters. It has an average annual temperature of -1.3°C (29.7°F). The city lies in the zone of sporadic permafrost, which means that building is difficult in sheltered aspects that preclude thawing in the summer, but easier on more exposed ones where soils fully thaw. Suburban residents live in traditional gers that do not protrude into the soil.[2]
Average temperature and precipitation in Ulaanbaatar
The Academic Theatre of Drama in Ulaanbaatar
Traffic in Ulaanbaatar
[edit] History
Founded in 1639, Ulan Bator, then Örgöö (Urga), was originally located at the lake Shireet Tsagaan nuur, around 400 km from the present Ulan Bator in Övörkhangai Province, and was mainly intended to be the seat of the first Jebtsundamba, Zanabazar.
It was moved often to various places along the Selenge, Orkhon and Tuul rivers until reaching its present location in the late 18th century, on the high road from Beijing to Kyakhta, about 700 miles northwest of Beijing and 165 miles south of the trading town of Kyakhta on the Russian frontier. It was the holy city of the Mongols and the residence of the "Living Buddha," metropolitan of the Khalkha tribes, who ranked third in degree of veneration among the dignitaries of the lamaist clergy. This "resplendently divine lama" resided in a palace on the southern side of the town. The town prospered in the 1860s as a commercial center on the tea route between Russia and China (early 20th-century trade was valued at over 1,000,000 dollars a year) and was the seat of the Qing Amban (highest imperial official) in Mongolia, who controlled all temporal matters and was specially charged with the control of the frontier trade town of Kyakhta and its trade with Russia.
In 1904, on the occasion of the British expedition to Tibet, the Dalai Lama withdrew from his Tibetan capital Lhasa and went to Ikh Khüree (as it was named at the time), where he remained until 1908. During his residence there, the Dalai Lama would have no communication with the incumbent Bogd Khan who was described as a "drunken profligate".[3]
After Mongolia first proclaimed its independence, upon the collapse of the Manchu Empire in 1911, the city became the capital of the new Mongolian People's Republic in 1924 under its new name Ulaanbaatar.
[edit] Administration and Subdivisions
Main article: Düüreg
Ulan Bator is divided into nine districts (Düüregs): Baganuur, Bagakhangai, Bayangol, Bayanzurkh, Chingeltei, Khan Uul, Nalaikh, Songino Khairkhan, and Sühbaatar. Each district is subdivided into Khoroos.
The capital is governed by a city council (the Citizen's Representatives Hural) with forty members, elected every four years. The city council appoints the mayor. The current mayor is Tsogt Batbayar, who is also the governor of Central Province, i.e. Töv Aimag, which surrounds the municipality of Ulaanbaatar.
[edit] Transportation
Ulaanbaatar train stationInterurban and international: Ulan Bator is served by the Chinggis Khaan International Airport (formerly Buyant Ukhaa Airport) and is connected by road (mostly unpaved and unmarked) to most of the major towns in Mongolia. There are rail connections to the Trans-Siberian railway via Naushki and to the Chinese railroad system via Jining.
Intra-urban: The national and municipal governments regulate a wide system of private transit providers which operate numerous bus lines around the city. Many of these buses are antiquated Soviet vehicles, though Japan and Korea have recently donated and sold modern busses to the city. A secondary transit system of microbusses (passenger vans) operates alongside these bus lines and competes directly, though generally illegally. In the last few years the city licensed an increasing number of marked taxicabs. However, most drivers in the city offer unregulated and occasional (informal) taxicab service to anyone who signals them.
Costs: Bus fares are regulated at about 200 tugrig; microbusses charge about 400 tugrig; taxicab fares are metered. Informal taxicab rates are negotiated before services are rendered and were around 350 MNT/km in 2006.
[edit] Colleges and universities
Ulan Bator has five major universities: the National University of Mongolia, Science and Technological University of Mongolia, University of Health and Medical Science, Pedagogical University, and University of Art and Culture. There are also private and public colleges. A historical library contains a wealth of ancient Mongolian, Chinese, and Tibetan manuscripts.
[edit] Description
Parliament building, Sühbaatar Square, July 2006The city consists of a central district built in Soviet 1940s and 1950s-style architecture, surrounded by and mingled with residential concrete towerblocks and larger ger quarters. In recent years, a lot of the towerblock's ground floors have been modified and upgraded to small shops, and many new buildings have been erected, some of them illegally. Among the few pre-1920 buildings is the Choijin Lama Monastery. The main sites are:
Natural History Museum. Features many dinosaur fossils found in Mongolia.
National Museum of Mongolian History
Gandantegchinlen Khiid Monastery, with a 25-meter-high statue of Migjid Janraisig
The Bogd Khan's Winter Palace
Ulaanbaatar Opera House
The Zaisan Memorial, a memorial to Russian soldiers killed in World War II, which sits on a hill south of the city. The Zaisan Memorial includes a Russian tank paid for by the Mongolian people and a circular memorial painting which depicts scenes of friendship between the peoples of Russia and Mongolia. Visitors who make the long climb to the top are rewarded with a panoramic view of the whole city down in the valley.
Sükhbaatar Square, in the government district. In the center of Sükhbaatar Square, there is a statue of Damdin Sükhbaatar on horseback. On the north side of Sükhbaatar Square is the Mongolian Parliament building, featuring a large statue of Chinggis Khan at the top of the front steps.
National Sports Stadium. The Naadam festival is held here every July.
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, a nature preserve with many tourist facilities, approximately 70 km from Ulan Bator.
[edit] Sister Cities
Tianjin, People's Republic of China
Taipei, Taiwan
Seoul, South Korea
Denver, Colorado, USA
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Miyakonojo, Miyazaki, Japan
Leeds, United Kingdom (according to a 2005 Calendar broadcast).
Mongolia
Mongolia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For other uses, see Mongolia (disambiguation).
Монгол улс
Mongol uls
Mongolia
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem
"Монгол улсын төрийн дуулал"
National anthem of Mongolia
Capital
(and largest city) Ulaanbaatar
47°55′N, 106°53′E
Official languages Mongolian
Government Parliamentary republic
- President Nambaryn Enkhbayar
- Prime Minister Miyeegombyn Enkhbold
Formation
- National Foundation Day 1206
- Independence from Qing Dynasty December 29, 1911
- Mongolian People's Republic November 24, 1924
- Democratic Mongolia February 12, 1992
Area
- Total 1,564,116 km² (19th)
603,909 sq mi
- Water (%) 0.6
Population
- July 2007 estimate 2,951,786 [1] (139th)
- 2000 census 2,407,500 [2]
- Density 1.7/km² (227th)
4.4/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate
- Total $5.56 billion (147th)
- Per capita $2,175 (138th)
HDI (2004) 0.691 (medium) (116th)
Currency Tögrög (MNT)
Time zone (UTC+7 to +8[3][4])
Internet TLD .mn
Calling code +976
Mongolia (pronounced IPA: /mɒŋˈgoʊliə/) (Mongolian: Монгол улс) is a country typically classified as being a part of East Asia, although sometimes it is considered part of Central Asia, and the northern rim of historical Mongolia extends into North Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. Its capital and largest city is Ulaanbaatar.
Mongolia was the center of the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century and was later ruled by the Qing Dynasty from the end of the seventeenth century until 1911, when an independent government was formed with Russian assistance. The Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed in 1924, leading to the adoption of communist policies and a close alignment to the Soviet Union. After the fall of communism in Mongolia in 1990, Mongolia adopted a new constitution which was ratified in 1992. This officially marked the transition of Mongolia to a multi-party political system. Mongolia's political system is parliamentary republic.
At 1,564,116 square kilometres, Mongolia is the nineteenth largest, and the least densely populated independent country in the world with a population of around 2.9 million people. It is also the world's second-largest landlocked country after Kazakhstan. The country contains very little arable land as much of its area is covered by arid and unproductive steppes with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Approximately thirty percent of the country's 2.8 million people are nomadic or semi-nomadic. The predominant religion in Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism, and the majority of the state's citizens are of the Mongol ethnicity, though Buriats, Kazakhs and Tuvans also live in the country, especially in the west. About 38% of the population lives in Ulaanbaatar.
Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Early history
1.2 Mongol Empire
1.3 Manchu domination
1.4 Independence
1.5 Alignment with the Soviet Union
1.6 1990 Democratic Revolution
2 Government and politics
2.1 President
2.2 The State Great Khural
2.3 Prime Minister and the Cabinet
3 Foreign relations and military
4 Geography and climate
5 Administrative divisions
6 Economy
6.1 Industrial sector
6.2 Science and technology
6.3 Service sector
7 Demographics
7.1 Languages
7.2 Religion
7.3 Education
7.4 Health
8 Culture
8.1 Sports and recreation
8.2 Architecture
8.3 Music
8.3.1 Popular music
9 See also
10 References and notes
11 External links
[edit] History
Main article: History of Mongolia
A large number of ethnicities have inhabited Mongolia since prehistoric times. Most of these people were nomads who, from time to time, formed great confederations that rose to prominence. The first of these, the Xiongnu, were brought together to form a confederation by Modu Shanyu in 209 BC. They defeated the Donghu, who had previously been the dominant power in eastern Mongolia. The Xiongnu became the greatest threat to China for the following three centuries; the Great Wall of China was built partly as defence against the Xiongnu. Marshal Meng Tian of the Qin Empire dispersed more than 300,000 soldiers along the Great Wall to prevent an expected invasion from the North. It is believed that after their decisive defeat by the Chinese in AD 428–431, some of the Xiongnu migrated West to become the Huns. After the Xiongnu migrated west, Rouran, a close relative of the Mongols, came to power before being defeated by the Göktürks, who then dominated Mongolia for centuries.
[edit] Early history
Eurasia, circa 1200.During the seventh and eighth centuries, Mongolia was controlled by the Göktürks, who were succeeded by the ancestors of today's Uyghur and then by the Khitan and Jurchen. By the tenth century, the country was divided into numerous tribes linked through transient alliances.
[edit] Mongol Empire
Main article: Mongol Empire
In the late twelfth century, a chieftain named Temüjin united the Mongol tribes to the Naiman and Jurchen after a long struggle and took the name Genghis Khan. Beginning in 1206, Genghis Khan and his successors consolidated and expanded the Mongol Empire into the largest contiguous land empire in world history, going as far northwest as Kievan Rus.
Genghis Khan
The expansion of the Mongol Empire.After Genghis Khan's death, the empire was divided into four kingdoms, or "Khanates". One of these, the "Great Khanate," comprised the Mongol homeland and China, and its emperors were known as the Yuan Dynasty. Its founder, Kublai Khan, set up his centre in present day Beijing. After more than a century of power, the Yuan Dynasty was replaced by the Ming Dynasty in 1368, and the Mongol court fled north. The Ming armies pursued and defeated them in Mongolia, but were not able to conquer Mongolia. However, they were successful in sacking and destroying the Mongol capital Karakorum and other cities in 1380. The Chinese wiped out the cultural progress of the Mongols achieved during the imperial period and Mongolia was thrown back to the primitive state until the renaissance of the 16th-17th centuries.
The Ming Emperor Yongle (1402-1424) mounted five military expeditions into Mongolia. The beginning of the 15th century is characterised by struggle for the throne between the Genghisid taiji and non-Genghisid nobles called taishi. The taishi were represented by the Oirad nobles whose success led to an ascendance of Esen Tayisi to power. To end the Chinese economic blockade and open up a trade with Ming Dynasty, Esen Tayisi raided China in 1449 and captured the Ming emperor at the Battle of Tumu. Shortly after death of Esen, the Genghisids dominated the power again. In 1466 Queen Mandihai the Wise installed a young boy Batumonhe, a descendant of Genghis Khan, on the throne and then she defeated the Oirad. Batumonhe Dayan Khan later eradicated the separatism of the taishi of Southern Mongolia. During the 16th century, Mongolia was split between the descendants of queen Manduhai into Khalkha, Chaharia, Tumet and other domains. The ruler of Tumet proclaimed himself as Altan Khan beside the legitimate Mongolian khan. Raiding China, he besieged Beijing in 1550 and reached peace with the Ming Dynasty. Altan Khan established the city of Hohhot in 1557. Upon meeting the Supreme Lama of Tibet in his domain in 1577, Altan Khan gave him title Dalai Lama and he became a convert to Tibetan Buddhism. At the same time ruler of Khalkha Abtai rushed to Tumet to meet the Dalai Lama. Thus, eventually most of the Mongolian rulers became Buddhists. Abtai Khan established Erdene Zuu monastery in 1586 at the site of the former city Karakorum.
The second half of the 15th and the 16th centuries saw the revival and flourishment of the Mongolian culture. Zanabazar (1635-1723), head of Buddhism in Khalkha, was a great master of the Buddhist art. He created the famous sculptures of Sita-Tara and Siyama-Tara, inspired by lively images of Mongolian women.
[edit] Manchu domination
During the seventeenth century, the Manchu rose to prominence in the east. They conquered Inner Mongolia in 1636. The Khalkha submitted in 1691, bringing all but the west of today's Mongolia under the rule of the Qing Dynasty. For the next two centuries, the Manchu maintained control of Mongolia with a series of alliances and intermarriages, as well as military and economic measures.
[edit] Independence
Bogd Khan, khan of MongoliaWith the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Mongolia declared independence in 1911. The new country's territory was approximately that of the former Outer Mongolia. The 49 hoshuns of Inner Mongolia as well as the Mongolians of the Alashan and Qinghai regions expressed their willingness to join the young Mongol Khanate. After the October Revolution in Russia, Chinese troops led by Xu Shuzheng occupied the capital in 1919. The Chinese dominance did not last: notorious Russian adventurer "Bloody" Baron Ungern who had fought with the "Whites" (Ataman Semyonov) against the Red army in Siberia, led his troops into Mongolia and forced a showdown with the Chinese in Niislel Khüree. Ungern's forces triumphed, and he briefly in effect ruled Mongolia under the blessing of religious leader Bogd Khan. But Ungern's triumph was shortlived; he was chased out by the Red Army, which, while at it, liberated Mongolia from feudalism and ensured its political alignment with the Russian Bolsheviks. In 1924, after the death of the religious leader and king Bogd Khan, a Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed with support from the Soviets.
[edit] Alignment with the Soviet Union
Main article: Mongolian People's Republic
The Mongolian People's Republic was aligned closely with the Soviet Union. During the 1920s and 1930s, several high-ranking politicians who demanded a more independent course, like Dogsomyn Bodoo or Khorloogiin Dandzan, fell victim to violent power struggles and were killed. In 1928, Khorloogiin Choibalsan rose to power. Under his administration, forced collectivisation of livestock was instituted, and the destruction of Buddhist monasteries and Stalinist purges beginning 1937 left more than 30,000 people dead.
During the Soviet-Japanese Border War of 1939, the USSR defended Mongolia against Japan. Mongolian forces also took part in the Soviet offensive against Japanese forces in Inner Mongolia in August 1945 (see Operation August Storm). The (Soviet) threat of Mongolian forces seizing parts of Inner Mongolia induced the Republic of China to recognize Outer Mongolia's independence, provided that a referendum was held. The referendum took place on October 20, 1945, with (according to official numbers) 100% of the electorate voting for independence. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, both countries re-recognized each other on October 6, 1949. The communist rule also undertook the Mongolia's enemies of the people persecution resulting in the murder of monks and other people.
After Choibalsan died in Moscow on January 26, 1952, Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal took power. In 1956 and again in 1962, Choibalsan's personality cult was condemned. Mongolia continued to align itself closely with the Soviet Union, especially after the Sino-Soviet split of the late 1950s. While Tsedenbal was visiting Moscow in August 1984, his severe illness prompted the parliament to announce his retirement and replace him with Jambyn Batmönkh.
[edit] 1990 Democratic Revolution
Main article: 1990 Mongolian democratic revolution
The introduction of perestroika and glasnost in the USSR by Mikhail Gorbachev strongly influenced Mongolian politics even though Mongolia was a sovereign nation. The collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, combined with these two policies, were enough to lead to the peaceful Democratic Revolution of 1990. This, in turn allowed Mongolia to begin engaging in economic and diplomatic relations with the Western world. The nation finished its transition from a communist state to a multi-party capitalist democracy with the ratification of a new constitution in 1992.
[edit] Government and politics
Main article: Politics of Mongolia
Sukhbaatar Square with building of the parliament, prime minister and president predominantlyGovernment of Mongolia is characterized as a parliamentary democracy, which is governed under the Constitution of Mongolia that guarantees full freedom of expression, rights, worship and others. As a result, media in Mongolia is totally free with a public television and no government news paper and all being privately owned. Mongolia has two main parties among many other parties. Until June 27, 2004, the predominant party in Mongolia was the social democratic Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or abbreviated as the MPRP, a former communist party during the socialist republics. The main opposition party was the Democratic Party or DP, which controlled a governing coalition from 1996 to 2000.
From 2000 to 2004, the MPRP was back in power, but results of the 2004 elections required the establishing of the first ever coalition government in Mongolia between the MPRP and MDC (Motherland Democratic Coalition). The coalition broke down in January 2006, the current government has been formed with the MPRP, some small parties and some DP defectors.
[edit] President
Main article: President of Mongolia
Nambaryn EnkhbayarMongolia's president has a symbolic role, but can block the parliament's decisions, who can then overrule the veto by a 2/3 majority. Mongolia's Constitution provides three requirements for taking office as President: the individual must be a native-born Mongolian, be at least 45 years of age, and have resided in Mongolia for five years prior to taking office. The current President is Nambaryn Enkhbayar.
[edit] The State Great Khural
Main article: State Great Khural
Mongolia uses a unicameral parliamentary system in which the president has a symbolic role and the government chosen by the legislature exercises executive power. The legislative arm, the State Great Khural, has one chamber with 76 seats and is chaired by the speaker of the house. It elects its members every four years by general elections. The State Great Khural is powerful in the Mongolian government with the president being largely symbolic and the prime minister being confirmed from the parliament.
[edit] Prime Minister and the Cabinet
Main article: Prime Minister of Mongolia
The Prime Minister of Mongolia is elected by the State Great Khural. The current prime minister is Miyeegombyn Enkhbold, who was elected by fifty-six votes to ten on January 25, 2006. The deputy prime minister is Mendsaikhany Enkhsaikhan (since 28 January 2006). There are ministers of each department like finance, defense, labor, agriculture, etc. and those offices constitute the prime minister's cabinet.
The cabinet is nominated by the prime minister in consultation with the president and confirmed by the State Great Khural.
[edit] Foreign relations and military
This short section requires expansion.
Main articles: Foreign relations of Mongolia and Military of Mongolia
Mongolia maintains positive relations and has diplomatic missions with many countries such as the United States, Russia, North and South Korea, Japan, the People's Republic of China. The government has focused a great deal on encouraging foreign investments and trade. Mongolia supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and has sent several successive contingents of 103 to 180 troops each to Iraq and Afghanistan. Also 200 Mongolian troops are serving in Sierra Leone on an UN mandate to protect the UN's special court set up there. From 2005 to 2006, about 40 troops were deployed with the Belgian and Luxemburgian contingent in Kosovo. On November 21, 2005, George W. Bush became the first-ever sitting U.S. President to visit Mongolia.[5]
Mongolia has embassies in Almaty, Ankara, Bangkok, Berlin, Beijing, Brussels, Budapest, Cairo, Warsaw, Washington, D.C., Vienna, Vientiane, Havana, Delhi, London, Moscow, Ottawa, Paris, Prague, Pyongyang, Seoul, Sofia, Tokyo, Hanoi, and Singapore, a consulate in Irkutsk, and a diplomatic mission to the United Nations in New York City and to the European Union in Geneva. [6]
[edit] Geography and climate
Main article: Geography of Mongolia
The southern portion of Mongolia is taken up by the Gobi Desert, while the northern and western portions are mountainous.
Largely northern MongoliaAt 1,564,116 km²[7] (603,909 mi²), Mongolia is the world's nineteenth-largest country (after Iran). It is significantly larger than the next-largest country, Peru.
The geography of Mongolia is varied with the Gobi desert to the south and with cold and mountainous regions to the north and west. Mongolia consists of relatively flat steppes. The highest point in Mongolia is the Khuiten in the Tavan bogd massif in the far west at 4,374 m (14,350 feet). The basin of the lake Uvs Nuur, shared with Tuva Republic in Russia, is a natural World Heritage Site.
Most of the country is hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter, with January averages dropping as low as -30°C (-22°F). The country is also subject to occasional harsh climatic conditions known as zud. Ulaanbaatar has the coldest average temperature of any national capital in the world. Mongolia is high, cold, and windy. It has an extreme continental climate with long, cold winters and short summers, during which most of its annual precipitation falls. The country averages 257 cloudless days a year, and it is usually at the center of a region of high atmospheric pressure. Precipitation is highest in the north (average of 20 to 35 centimeters per year) and lowest in the south, which receives 10 to 20 centimeters annually. The extreme south is the Gobi, some regions of which receive no precipitation at all in most years.
The name "Gobi" is a Mongol term for a desert steppe, which usually refers to a category of arid rangeland with insufficient vegetation to support marmots but with enough to support camels. Mongols distinguish Gobi from desert proper, although the distinction is not always apparent to outsiders unfamiliar with the Mongolian landscape. Gobi rangelands are fragile and are easily destroyed by overgrazing, which results in expansion of the true desert, a stony waste where not even Bactrian camels can survive.
[edit] Administrative divisions
Main articles: Aimags of Mongolia and Sums of Mongolia
Aimags of Mongolia
Sums of MongoliaMongolian administrative divisions are breaken down into 21 aimags (province) and each aimag into multiple sums (district). Mongolia is divided into the following Aimags (provinces):
Arkhangai
Bayan-Ölgii
Bayankhongor
Bulgan
Darkhan-Uul
Dornod
Dornogovi
Dundgovi
Govi-Altai
Govisümber
Khentii
Khovd
Khövsgöl
Ömnögovi
Orkhon
Övörkhangai
Selenge
Sükhbaatar
Töv
Uvs
Zavkhan
The aimags are further divided into 315 sums ("districts"). The capital Ulan Bator is administrated separately as a municipality (khot) with provincial status
[edit] Economy
Main article: Economy of Mongolia
1,000 tugrugMongolia's economy is centered on agriculture and mining. Mongolia has rich mineral resources, and copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, and gold account for a large part of industrial production.
There are currently over 30,000 independent businesses in Mongolia, chiefly centered around the capital city [citation needed]. The majority of the population outside urban areas participate in subsistence herding; livestock typically consists of sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and Bactrian camels. Agricultural crops include wheat, barley, vegetables, and other forage crops. GDP per capita in 2006 was $2,100.[8] Although GDP has risen steadily since 2002 at the rate of 7.5% in an official 2006 estimate, the state is still working to overcome a sizable trade deficit. A massive ($11 billion) foreign debt to Russia was settled by the Mongolian government in 2004 with a $250 million payment. Despite growth, the proportion of the population below the poverty line is estimated to be 36.1% in 2004, and both the unemployment rate and inflation rate are high at 3.3% and 9.5%, respectively[8] Mongolia's largest trading partner is China. As of 2006, 68.4% of Mongolia's exports went to China, and China supplied 29.8% of Mongolia's imports.[9]
[edit] Industrial sector
Industry currently accounts for 21.4% of GDP, approximately equal to the weight of the agriculture sector (20.4%). These industries include construction materials, mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, tin, tungsten, and gold), oil, food and beverages, processing of animal products, and cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing. The industrial production growth rate is estimated to be 4.1% in 2002. Mining is continuing to rise as a major industry of Mongolia as evidenced by number of Chinese, Russian and Canadian firms opening and starting mining business in Mongolia.[8] Domestic food production, especially packaged food production has been increasingly coming up with speed with investments from foreign companies.
[edit] Science and technology
Mongolia has increasingly started to develop its technology industry since the democratic revolution of the early 1990s, and many new technology companies have been founded. Also, some technology companies in nearby countries, such as South Korea and the People's Republic of China, have started to open offices in Mongolia. Number of telecommunications companies and internet service providers have been established resulting in greater competition in the internet and phone market, especially in cell phones. A company in Mongolia established a cellphone service covering all areas of Mongolia. Relative to electronics and other mechanical industries, software industry has been more focused on by the Mongolian and foreign companies that opened up offices in Mongolia.
[edit] Service sector
A market in Tsetserleg, a common place for trade in the outer areas of MongoliaAfter the democratic revolution of the early 1990s, Mongolian domestic production has picked up, providing basic food production to its residents through increasing competition among companies. According to the CIA World Factbook, in 2003, the service sector accounted for 58% of the GDP, with 29% of the labor force of 1.488 million involved.
However, investment from other countries (including China, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Russia) has helped to add more paved roads. The most important is a 1000 km north-south road leading from the Russian border at Sühbaatar to the Chinese border at Zamyn-Üüd. The air transport company of Mongolia is MIAT.
Petroleum products are mainly (80%), imported from Russia, which makes Mongolia vulnerable to supply side shocks. This is one strong example of the influence of Mongolia's neighbors on its economy.
[edit] Demographics
Demographics of Mongolia (2005 FAO data; number of inhabitants in thousands).Main article: Demographics of Mongolia
Mongolia's total population as of July 2007 is estimated at around just 2.9 million people ranking at around 138th in the world in terms of population. It has a very small population relative to its two border neighbors, China and Russia. Though the majority of Mongolian citizens are of Mongol descent there are small populations of Kazakh, Tuvan, and Tungus peoples. Mongolia's population growth rate is estimated at 1.54% (2000 census). About two-thirds of the total population is under age 30, 36% of whom are under 14. This relatively young and rapidly growing population has, as in many developing countries, placed strains on Mongolia's economy. According to the World Factbook, 50% of Mongolia's population is Buddhist-Lamaist, which is related to Tibetan Buddhism. 40% is listed as having no religion, 6% is Shamanist or Christian, and 4% is Muslim.
A young Mongolian boy in front of a ger in the countrysideLife in sparsely populated Mongolia has become more urbanized. Nearly half of the people live in the capital and in other provincial centers. Semi-nomadic life still predominates in the countryside where many families stay in villages during the cold winters and live in gers during the summer, though agricultural communities that are settled year-round are becoming more common. Around 40% of the population continue to live a traditional nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle.[10]
Ethnic Mongols account for about 85% of the population and consist of Khalkha and other groups, all distinguished primarily by dialects of the Mongol language. The Khalkha make up 90% of the ethnic Mongol population. The remaining 10% include Buryats, Durbet Mongols and others in the north and Dariganga Mongols in the east. Turkic peoples (Kazakhs, Tuvans, and Uyghurs) constitute 7% of Mongolia's population, and the rest are Tungusic peoples, Chinese, and Russians. Most, but not all, Russians left the country following the withdrawal of economic aid and collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
[edit] Languages
The official language of Mongolia is Khalkha Mongolian, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet, and is spoken by 90% of the population. A variety of different dialects are spoken across the country. In the west the Kazakh and Tuvan languages, among others, are also spoken. The Russian language is the most frequently spoken foreign language in Mongolia, followed by English, though English has been gradually replacing Russian as the second language.[citation needed] Korean has gained a popularity as tens of thousands of Mongolians work in South Korea.[11] Interest in Chinese, as the language of the second neighbouring power has been growing. Japanese is also popular among the younger people. A number of older educated Mongolians speak some German, as they studied in the former East Germany, while a few speak other languages from the former Eastern Bloc. Besides that, many younger Mongolians are fluent in the Western European languages as they study or work in foreign countries including Germany, France and Italy.
Mongolian is one of the Mongolic languages. Mongolic is frequently included in the Altaic languages, a group of languages named after the Altay Mountains that also includes the Turkic, and Tungusic languages, and sometimes, Korean and Japanese.
[edit] Religion
Gandantegchinlen Khiid, Buddhist monastery in UlaanbaatarVarious forms of tengriism and shamanism have been widely practiced throughout the history of what is now modern day Mongolia, as such beliefs were common among nomadic people in Asian history. Such beliefs gradually gave way to Tibetan Buddhism, but shamanism has left a mark on Mongolian religious culture. Indeed, some shamanistic practices and traditions, such as the use of ovoo as religious sites, are still practiced.
Throughout much of the twentieth century, the communist government ensured that the religious practices of the Mongolian people were largely repressed. Khorloogiin Choibalsan complied with the orders of Joseph Stalin, destroying almost all of Mongolia's over 700 Buddhist monasteries and killing thousands of monks.
Lama monastery in TsetserlegThe fall of communism in 1991 restored the legality of public religious practice, and Tibetan Buddhism, which had been the predominant religion in the region before the rise of Communism, again rose to become the most widely practiced religion in Mongolia. The end of religious repression in the 1990s also allowed for other religions, such as Islam and Christianity, to spread in the country.
See also: Buddhism in Mongolia, Islam in Mongolia
[edit] Education
This short section requires expansion.
During the state socialist period, education was one of the areas of significant achievement in Mongolia. Illiteracy was virtually eliminated, in part through the use of seasonal boarding schools for children of nomadic families. Funding to these boarding schools was cut in the 1990s, contributing to slightly increased illiteracy.
Primary and secondary education formerly lasted ten years, but has been expanded to eleven years recently and is set to be expanded further to twelve years.
Mongolian national universities are all spin-offs from the National University of Mongolia and Mongolian University of Science and Technology
The broad liberalization of the 1990s led to a boom in private institutions of higher education, although many of these establishments have difficulty living up to their name of "college" or "university".
[edit] Health
This short section requires expansion.
Health care in Mongolia is rapidly improving, leading to a higher life expectancy.
According to the World Factbookaverage childbirth (fertility rate) is around 2.25 per woman (2007), average life expectancy is 67 years, and the infant mortality rate is at 4% (2% according National Ministry of Health in 2006 [12]) .
The health sector comprises 17 specialized hospitals and centers, 4 regional diagnostic and treatment centers, 9 district and 21 aimag general hospitals, 323 soum hospitals, 18 feldsher posts, 233 family group practices, and 536 private hospitals and 57 drug supply companies/pharmacies. In 2002 the total number of health workers was 33273, of which 6823 were doctors, 788 pharmacists, 7802-nurses and 14091 mid-level personnel. At present, there are 27.7 physicians and 75.7 hospital beds per 10.000 population overall.
[edit] Culture
Main article: Culture of Mongolia
Horse men during Naadam festival in July.The main festival is Naadam, which has been organised for centuries, consists of three Mongolian traditional sports, archery, horse-racing (over long stretches of open country, not the short racing around a track practiced in the West), and wrestling. Nowadays it is held on July 11 to July 13 in the honour of the anniversaries of the National Democratic Revolution and foundation of the Great Mongol State. Another very popular activity called Shagaa is the "flicking" of sheep ankle bones at a target several feet away, using a flicking motion of the finger to send the small bone flying at targets and trying to knock the target bones off the platform. This contest at Naadam is very popular and develops a serious audience among older Mongolians. In Mongolia, the khoomii, or throat singing, style of music is popular, particularly in parts of Western Mongolia.
The ornate symbol in the leftmost bar of the national flag is a Buddhist icon called soyombo. It represents the sun, moon, stars, and heavens per standard cosmologic symbology abstracted from that seen in traditional thangka paintings.
[edit] Sports and recreation
Mongolia's Naadam festival takes place over three days in the summer and includes horse racing, archery, and Mongolian wrestling. These three sports, traditionally recognized as the three primary masculine activities, are the most widely watched and practiced sports throughout the country.
Örgöö, main arena of the Mongolian wrestling in UlaanbaatarHorse riding is especially central to Mongolian culture. The long-distance races that are showcased during Naadam festivals are one aspect of this, as is the popularity of trick riding. One example of trick riding is the story that the Mongolian military hero Damdin Sühbaatar scattered coins on the ground and then picked them up while riding a horse at full gallop.
Other sports such as table tennis, basketball, and soccer are increasingly getting popular. More Mongolian table tennis players are competing internationally. Wrestling is the most popular of all Mongol sports. It is the highlight of the Three Manly Games of Naadam. Historians claim that Mongol-style wrestling originated some seven thousand years ago. Hundreds of wrestlers from different cities and aimags around the country take part in the national wrestling competition.
There are no weight categories or age limits. Each wrestler has his own attendant herald. The aim of the sport is to knock one's opponent off balance and throw him down, making him touch the ground with his elbow and knee.
The winners are honored with ancient titles: the winner of the fifth round gets the honorary title of nachin (falcon), of the seventh and eighth rounds zaan (elephant), and of the tenth and eleventh rounds arslan (lion). The wrestler who becomes the absolute champion is awarded the title of avarga (Titan). Every subsequent victory at the national Naadam-festival will add an epithet to the avarga title, like "Invincible Titan to be remembered by all".
Beginning in 2003, the Mongolian parliament adopted a new law on Naadam, making amendments to some of the wrestling titles. The titles of iarudi and Hartsaga (Hawk) were added to the existing above-mentioned rules.
The traditional wrestling costume includes an open-fronted jacket, tied around the waist with a string. This is said to have come into use after the champion of a wrestling competition many years ago was discovered to be a woman. The jacket was introduced to ensure that only men could compete.
Mongolia's traditional wrestlers have made the transition to Japanese sumo wrestling with great success. Asashoryu was the first Mongolian to be promoted to the top sumo rank of yokozuna in 2003 and was followed by his countryman Hakuho in 2007.
Football is also played in Mongolia. The Mongolia national football team began playing again in the 1990s; it has yet to qualify for a major tournament. The Mongolia Premier League is the top domestic competition.
Several Mongolian women have excelled in pistol shooting: Munkhbayar Dorjsuren is a double world champion and Olympic bronze medal winner (now representing Germany), while Otryad Gundegmaa and Tsogbadrakh Munkhzul are, as of May 2007 ranked second and third in the world in the 25 m Pistol event.[13]
[edit] Architecture
A temple in the Dashichoiling ensemble in UlaanbaatarThe traditional Mongolian dwelling is known as a yurt (Mongolian: ger). According to Mongolian artist and art critic N. Chultem, yurts and tents were the basis for development of the traditional Mongolian architecture. In the 16th ad 17th centuries, lamaseries were built throughout the country. Many of them started as yurt-temples. When they needed to be enlarged to accommodate the growing number of worshippers, the Mongolian architects used structures with 6 and 12 angles with pyramidal roofs to approximate to the round shape of a yurt. Further enlargement led to a quadratic shape of the temples. The roofs were made in the shape of marquees.[14] The trellis walls, roof poles and layers of felt were replaced by stone, brick, beams and planks, and became permanent.[15]
A yurt in front of the Gurvansaikhan MountainsChultem distinguished three styles in traditional Mongolian architecture: Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese as well as combinations of the three. Among the first quadratic temples was Batu-Tsagaan (1654) designed by Zanabazar. An example of the yurt-style architecture is the lamasery Dashi-Choiling in Ulan Bator. The temple Lavrin (XVIII century) in the Erdene Zuu lamasery was built in the Tibetan tradition. An example of a temple built in the Chinese tradition is the lamasery Choijing Lamiin Sume (1904), which is a museum today. The quadratic temple Tsogchin in lamasery Gandan in Ulaanbaatar is a combination of the Mongolian and Chinese tradition. The temple of Maitreya (disassembled in 1938) is an example of the Tibeto-Mongolian architecture.[14] Dashi-Choiling monastery has commenced a project to restore the temple and the 80-feet sculpture of Maitreya.
[edit] Music
Main article: Music of Mongolia
A traditional Mongolian musician playing Morin Khuur
[edit] Popular music
This short section requires expansion.
The first rock band of Mongolia was Soyol-Erdene, founded in the 1960s. Their Beatles-like manner was severely criticised by the Communist censorship. It was followed by Mungunhurhree, Ineemseglel, Urgoo, etc., carving out the path for the genre in the harsh environment of Communist ideology. Mungunhurhree and Haranga were to become the pioneers in the Mongolia's heavy rock music. Haranga approached its zenith in the late 1980s and 1990s.
The leader of Haranga, famous guitarist Enh-Manlai, generously helped the growth of their following generations of rockers. Among the followers of Haranga was the band Hurd. In the early 1990s group Har-Chono put the beginning for Mongolia's folk-rock merging the elements of the Mongolian tenuto song (poorly described as "long" song) into the genre.
By that time, the environment for development of artisitic thought had become largely liberal thanks to the new democratic society in the country. The 1990s saw development of rap, techno, hip-hop and also boy bands and girl bands flourished at the turn of the century.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For other uses, see Mongolia (disambiguation).
Монгол улс
Mongol uls
Mongolia
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem
"Монгол улсын төрийн дуулал"
National anthem of Mongolia
Capital
(and largest city) Ulaanbaatar
47°55′N, 106°53′E
Official languages Mongolian
Government Parliamentary republic
- President Nambaryn Enkhbayar
- Prime Minister Miyeegombyn Enkhbold
Formation
- National Foundation Day 1206
- Independence from Qing Dynasty December 29, 1911
- Mongolian People's Republic November 24, 1924
- Democratic Mongolia February 12, 1992
Area
- Total 1,564,116 km² (19th)
603,909 sq mi
- Water (%) 0.6
Population
- July 2007 estimate 2,951,786 [1] (139th)
- 2000 census 2,407,500 [2]
- Density 1.7/km² (227th)
4.4/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate
- Total $5.56 billion (147th)
- Per capita $2,175 (138th)
HDI (2004) 0.691 (medium) (116th)
Currency Tögrög (MNT)
Time zone (UTC+7 to +8[3][4])
Internet TLD .mn
Calling code +976
Mongolia (pronounced IPA: /mɒŋˈgoʊliə/) (Mongolian: Монгол улс) is a country typically classified as being a part of East Asia, although sometimes it is considered part of Central Asia, and the northern rim of historical Mongolia extends into North Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. Its capital and largest city is Ulaanbaatar.
Mongolia was the center of the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century and was later ruled by the Qing Dynasty from the end of the seventeenth century until 1911, when an independent government was formed with Russian assistance. The Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed in 1924, leading to the adoption of communist policies and a close alignment to the Soviet Union. After the fall of communism in Mongolia in 1990, Mongolia adopted a new constitution which was ratified in 1992. This officially marked the transition of Mongolia to a multi-party political system. Mongolia's political system is parliamentary republic.
At 1,564,116 square kilometres, Mongolia is the nineteenth largest, and the least densely populated independent country in the world with a population of around 2.9 million people. It is also the world's second-largest landlocked country after Kazakhstan. The country contains very little arable land as much of its area is covered by arid and unproductive steppes with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Approximately thirty percent of the country's 2.8 million people are nomadic or semi-nomadic. The predominant religion in Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism, and the majority of the state's citizens are of the Mongol ethnicity, though Buriats, Kazakhs and Tuvans also live in the country, especially in the west. About 38% of the population lives in Ulaanbaatar.
Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Early history
1.2 Mongol Empire
1.3 Manchu domination
1.4 Independence
1.5 Alignment with the Soviet Union
1.6 1990 Democratic Revolution
2 Government and politics
2.1 President
2.2 The State Great Khural
2.3 Prime Minister and the Cabinet
3 Foreign relations and military
4 Geography and climate
5 Administrative divisions
6 Economy
6.1 Industrial sector
6.2 Science and technology
6.3 Service sector
7 Demographics
7.1 Languages
7.2 Religion
7.3 Education
7.4 Health
8 Culture
8.1 Sports and recreation
8.2 Architecture
8.3 Music
8.3.1 Popular music
9 See also
10 References and notes
11 External links
[edit] History
Main article: History of Mongolia
A large number of ethnicities have inhabited Mongolia since prehistoric times. Most of these people were nomads who, from time to time, formed great confederations that rose to prominence. The first of these, the Xiongnu, were brought together to form a confederation by Modu Shanyu in 209 BC. They defeated the Donghu, who had previously been the dominant power in eastern Mongolia. The Xiongnu became the greatest threat to China for the following three centuries; the Great Wall of China was built partly as defence against the Xiongnu. Marshal Meng Tian of the Qin Empire dispersed more than 300,000 soldiers along the Great Wall to prevent an expected invasion from the North. It is believed that after their decisive defeat by the Chinese in AD 428–431, some of the Xiongnu migrated West to become the Huns. After the Xiongnu migrated west, Rouran, a close relative of the Mongols, came to power before being defeated by the Göktürks, who then dominated Mongolia for centuries.
[edit] Early history
Eurasia, circa 1200.During the seventh and eighth centuries, Mongolia was controlled by the Göktürks, who were succeeded by the ancestors of today's Uyghur and then by the Khitan and Jurchen. By the tenth century, the country was divided into numerous tribes linked through transient alliances.
[edit] Mongol Empire
Main article: Mongol Empire
In the late twelfth century, a chieftain named Temüjin united the Mongol tribes to the Naiman and Jurchen after a long struggle and took the name Genghis Khan. Beginning in 1206, Genghis Khan and his successors consolidated and expanded the Mongol Empire into the largest contiguous land empire in world history, going as far northwest as Kievan Rus.
Genghis Khan
The expansion of the Mongol Empire.After Genghis Khan's death, the empire was divided into four kingdoms, or "Khanates". One of these, the "Great Khanate," comprised the Mongol homeland and China, and its emperors were known as the Yuan Dynasty. Its founder, Kublai Khan, set up his centre in present day Beijing. After more than a century of power, the Yuan Dynasty was replaced by the Ming Dynasty in 1368, and the Mongol court fled north. The Ming armies pursued and defeated them in Mongolia, but were not able to conquer Mongolia. However, they were successful in sacking and destroying the Mongol capital Karakorum and other cities in 1380. The Chinese wiped out the cultural progress of the Mongols achieved during the imperial period and Mongolia was thrown back to the primitive state until the renaissance of the 16th-17th centuries.
The Ming Emperor Yongle (1402-1424) mounted five military expeditions into Mongolia. The beginning of the 15th century is characterised by struggle for the throne between the Genghisid taiji and non-Genghisid nobles called taishi. The taishi were represented by the Oirad nobles whose success led to an ascendance of Esen Tayisi to power. To end the Chinese economic blockade and open up a trade with Ming Dynasty, Esen Tayisi raided China in 1449 and captured the Ming emperor at the Battle of Tumu. Shortly after death of Esen, the Genghisids dominated the power again. In 1466 Queen Mandihai the Wise installed a young boy Batumonhe, a descendant of Genghis Khan, on the throne and then she defeated the Oirad. Batumonhe Dayan Khan later eradicated the separatism of the taishi of Southern Mongolia. During the 16th century, Mongolia was split between the descendants of queen Manduhai into Khalkha, Chaharia, Tumet and other domains. The ruler of Tumet proclaimed himself as Altan Khan beside the legitimate Mongolian khan. Raiding China, he besieged Beijing in 1550 and reached peace with the Ming Dynasty. Altan Khan established the city of Hohhot in 1557. Upon meeting the Supreme Lama of Tibet in his domain in 1577, Altan Khan gave him title Dalai Lama and he became a convert to Tibetan Buddhism. At the same time ruler of Khalkha Abtai rushed to Tumet to meet the Dalai Lama. Thus, eventually most of the Mongolian rulers became Buddhists. Abtai Khan established Erdene Zuu monastery in 1586 at the site of the former city Karakorum.
The second half of the 15th and the 16th centuries saw the revival and flourishment of the Mongolian culture. Zanabazar (1635-1723), head of Buddhism in Khalkha, was a great master of the Buddhist art. He created the famous sculptures of Sita-Tara and Siyama-Tara, inspired by lively images of Mongolian women.
[edit] Manchu domination
During the seventeenth century, the Manchu rose to prominence in the east. They conquered Inner Mongolia in 1636. The Khalkha submitted in 1691, bringing all but the west of today's Mongolia under the rule of the Qing Dynasty. For the next two centuries, the Manchu maintained control of Mongolia with a series of alliances and intermarriages, as well as military and economic measures.
[edit] Independence
Bogd Khan, khan of MongoliaWith the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Mongolia declared independence in 1911. The new country's territory was approximately that of the former Outer Mongolia. The 49 hoshuns of Inner Mongolia as well as the Mongolians of the Alashan and Qinghai regions expressed their willingness to join the young Mongol Khanate. After the October Revolution in Russia, Chinese troops led by Xu Shuzheng occupied the capital in 1919. The Chinese dominance did not last: notorious Russian adventurer "Bloody" Baron Ungern who had fought with the "Whites" (Ataman Semyonov) against the Red army in Siberia, led his troops into Mongolia and forced a showdown with the Chinese in Niislel Khüree. Ungern's forces triumphed, and he briefly in effect ruled Mongolia under the blessing of religious leader Bogd Khan. But Ungern's triumph was shortlived; he was chased out by the Red Army, which, while at it, liberated Mongolia from feudalism and ensured its political alignment with the Russian Bolsheviks. In 1924, after the death of the religious leader and king Bogd Khan, a Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed with support from the Soviets.
[edit] Alignment with the Soviet Union
Main article: Mongolian People's Republic
The Mongolian People's Republic was aligned closely with the Soviet Union. During the 1920s and 1930s, several high-ranking politicians who demanded a more independent course, like Dogsomyn Bodoo or Khorloogiin Dandzan, fell victim to violent power struggles and were killed. In 1928, Khorloogiin Choibalsan rose to power. Under his administration, forced collectivisation of livestock was instituted, and the destruction of Buddhist monasteries and Stalinist purges beginning 1937 left more than 30,000 people dead.
During the Soviet-Japanese Border War of 1939, the USSR defended Mongolia against Japan. Mongolian forces also took part in the Soviet offensive against Japanese forces in Inner Mongolia in August 1945 (see Operation August Storm). The (Soviet) threat of Mongolian forces seizing parts of Inner Mongolia induced the Republic of China to recognize Outer Mongolia's independence, provided that a referendum was held. The referendum took place on October 20, 1945, with (according to official numbers) 100% of the electorate voting for independence. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, both countries re-recognized each other on October 6, 1949. The communist rule also undertook the Mongolia's enemies of the people persecution resulting in the murder of monks and other people.
After Choibalsan died in Moscow on January 26, 1952, Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal took power. In 1956 and again in 1962, Choibalsan's personality cult was condemned. Mongolia continued to align itself closely with the Soviet Union, especially after the Sino-Soviet split of the late 1950s. While Tsedenbal was visiting Moscow in August 1984, his severe illness prompted the parliament to announce his retirement and replace him with Jambyn Batmönkh.
[edit] 1990 Democratic Revolution
Main article: 1990 Mongolian democratic revolution
The introduction of perestroika and glasnost in the USSR by Mikhail Gorbachev strongly influenced Mongolian politics even though Mongolia was a sovereign nation. The collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, combined with these two policies, were enough to lead to the peaceful Democratic Revolution of 1990. This, in turn allowed Mongolia to begin engaging in economic and diplomatic relations with the Western world. The nation finished its transition from a communist state to a multi-party capitalist democracy with the ratification of a new constitution in 1992.
[edit] Government and politics
Main article: Politics of Mongolia
Sukhbaatar Square with building of the parliament, prime minister and president predominantlyGovernment of Mongolia is characterized as a parliamentary democracy, which is governed under the Constitution of Mongolia that guarantees full freedom of expression, rights, worship and others. As a result, media in Mongolia is totally free with a public television and no government news paper and all being privately owned. Mongolia has two main parties among many other parties. Until June 27, 2004, the predominant party in Mongolia was the social democratic Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or abbreviated as the MPRP, a former communist party during the socialist republics. The main opposition party was the Democratic Party or DP, which controlled a governing coalition from 1996 to 2000.
From 2000 to 2004, the MPRP was back in power, but results of the 2004 elections required the establishing of the first ever coalition government in Mongolia between the MPRP and MDC (Motherland Democratic Coalition). The coalition broke down in January 2006, the current government has been formed with the MPRP, some small parties and some DP defectors.
[edit] President
Main article: President of Mongolia
Nambaryn EnkhbayarMongolia's president has a symbolic role, but can block the parliament's decisions, who can then overrule the veto by a 2/3 majority. Mongolia's Constitution provides three requirements for taking office as President: the individual must be a native-born Mongolian, be at least 45 years of age, and have resided in Mongolia for five years prior to taking office. The current President is Nambaryn Enkhbayar.
[edit] The State Great Khural
Main article: State Great Khural
Mongolia uses a unicameral parliamentary system in which the president has a symbolic role and the government chosen by the legislature exercises executive power. The legislative arm, the State Great Khural, has one chamber with 76 seats and is chaired by the speaker of the house. It elects its members every four years by general elections. The State Great Khural is powerful in the Mongolian government with the president being largely symbolic and the prime minister being confirmed from the parliament.
[edit] Prime Minister and the Cabinet
Main article: Prime Minister of Mongolia
The Prime Minister of Mongolia is elected by the State Great Khural. The current prime minister is Miyeegombyn Enkhbold, who was elected by fifty-six votes to ten on January 25, 2006. The deputy prime minister is Mendsaikhany Enkhsaikhan (since 28 January 2006). There are ministers of each department like finance, defense, labor, agriculture, etc. and those offices constitute the prime minister's cabinet.
The cabinet is nominated by the prime minister in consultation with the president and confirmed by the State Great Khural.
[edit] Foreign relations and military
This short section requires expansion.
Main articles: Foreign relations of Mongolia and Military of Mongolia
Mongolia maintains positive relations and has diplomatic missions with many countries such as the United States, Russia, North and South Korea, Japan, the People's Republic of China. The government has focused a great deal on encouraging foreign investments and trade. Mongolia supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and has sent several successive contingents of 103 to 180 troops each to Iraq and Afghanistan. Also 200 Mongolian troops are serving in Sierra Leone on an UN mandate to protect the UN's special court set up there. From 2005 to 2006, about 40 troops were deployed with the Belgian and Luxemburgian contingent in Kosovo. On November 21, 2005, George W. Bush became the first-ever sitting U.S. President to visit Mongolia.[5]
Mongolia has embassies in Almaty, Ankara, Bangkok, Berlin, Beijing, Brussels, Budapest, Cairo, Warsaw, Washington, D.C., Vienna, Vientiane, Havana, Delhi, London, Moscow, Ottawa, Paris, Prague, Pyongyang, Seoul, Sofia, Tokyo, Hanoi, and Singapore, a consulate in Irkutsk, and a diplomatic mission to the United Nations in New York City and to the European Union in Geneva. [6]
[edit] Geography and climate
Main article: Geography of Mongolia
The southern portion of Mongolia is taken up by the Gobi Desert, while the northern and western portions are mountainous.
Largely northern MongoliaAt 1,564,116 km²[7] (603,909 mi²), Mongolia is the world's nineteenth-largest country (after Iran). It is significantly larger than the next-largest country, Peru.
The geography of Mongolia is varied with the Gobi desert to the south and with cold and mountainous regions to the north and west. Mongolia consists of relatively flat steppes. The highest point in Mongolia is the Khuiten in the Tavan bogd massif in the far west at 4,374 m (14,350 feet). The basin of the lake Uvs Nuur, shared with Tuva Republic in Russia, is a natural World Heritage Site.
Most of the country is hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter, with January averages dropping as low as -30°C (-22°F). The country is also subject to occasional harsh climatic conditions known as zud. Ulaanbaatar has the coldest average temperature of any national capital in the world. Mongolia is high, cold, and windy. It has an extreme continental climate with long, cold winters and short summers, during which most of its annual precipitation falls. The country averages 257 cloudless days a year, and it is usually at the center of a region of high atmospheric pressure. Precipitation is highest in the north (average of 20 to 35 centimeters per year) and lowest in the south, which receives 10 to 20 centimeters annually. The extreme south is the Gobi, some regions of which receive no precipitation at all in most years.
The name "Gobi" is a Mongol term for a desert steppe, which usually refers to a category of arid rangeland with insufficient vegetation to support marmots but with enough to support camels. Mongols distinguish Gobi from desert proper, although the distinction is not always apparent to outsiders unfamiliar with the Mongolian landscape. Gobi rangelands are fragile and are easily destroyed by overgrazing, which results in expansion of the true desert, a stony waste where not even Bactrian camels can survive.
[edit] Administrative divisions
Main articles: Aimags of Mongolia and Sums of Mongolia
Aimags of Mongolia
Sums of MongoliaMongolian administrative divisions are breaken down into 21 aimags (province) and each aimag into multiple sums (district). Mongolia is divided into the following Aimags (provinces):
Arkhangai
Bayan-Ölgii
Bayankhongor
Bulgan
Darkhan-Uul
Dornod
Dornogovi
Dundgovi
Govi-Altai
Govisümber
Khentii
Khovd
Khövsgöl
Ömnögovi
Orkhon
Övörkhangai
Selenge
Sükhbaatar
Töv
Uvs
Zavkhan
The aimags are further divided into 315 sums ("districts"). The capital Ulan Bator is administrated separately as a municipality (khot) with provincial status
[edit] Economy
Main article: Economy of Mongolia
1,000 tugrugMongolia's economy is centered on agriculture and mining. Mongolia has rich mineral resources, and copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, and gold account for a large part of industrial production.
There are currently over 30,000 independent businesses in Mongolia, chiefly centered around the capital city [citation needed]. The majority of the population outside urban areas participate in subsistence herding; livestock typically consists of sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and Bactrian camels. Agricultural crops include wheat, barley, vegetables, and other forage crops. GDP per capita in 2006 was $2,100.[8] Although GDP has risen steadily since 2002 at the rate of 7.5% in an official 2006 estimate, the state is still working to overcome a sizable trade deficit. A massive ($11 billion) foreign debt to Russia was settled by the Mongolian government in 2004 with a $250 million payment. Despite growth, the proportion of the population below the poverty line is estimated to be 36.1% in 2004, and both the unemployment rate and inflation rate are high at 3.3% and 9.5%, respectively[8] Mongolia's largest trading partner is China. As of 2006, 68.4% of Mongolia's exports went to China, and China supplied 29.8% of Mongolia's imports.[9]
[edit] Industrial sector
Industry currently accounts for 21.4% of GDP, approximately equal to the weight of the agriculture sector (20.4%). These industries include construction materials, mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, tin, tungsten, and gold), oil, food and beverages, processing of animal products, and cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing. The industrial production growth rate is estimated to be 4.1% in 2002. Mining is continuing to rise as a major industry of Mongolia as evidenced by number of Chinese, Russian and Canadian firms opening and starting mining business in Mongolia.[8] Domestic food production, especially packaged food production has been increasingly coming up with speed with investments from foreign companies.
[edit] Science and technology
Mongolia has increasingly started to develop its technology industry since the democratic revolution of the early 1990s, and many new technology companies have been founded. Also, some technology companies in nearby countries, such as South Korea and the People's Republic of China, have started to open offices in Mongolia. Number of telecommunications companies and internet service providers have been established resulting in greater competition in the internet and phone market, especially in cell phones. A company in Mongolia established a cellphone service covering all areas of Mongolia. Relative to electronics and other mechanical industries, software industry has been more focused on by the Mongolian and foreign companies that opened up offices in Mongolia.
[edit] Service sector
A market in Tsetserleg, a common place for trade in the outer areas of MongoliaAfter the democratic revolution of the early 1990s, Mongolian domestic production has picked up, providing basic food production to its residents through increasing competition among companies. According to the CIA World Factbook, in 2003, the service sector accounted for 58% of the GDP, with 29% of the labor force of 1.488 million involved.
However, investment from other countries (including China, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Russia) has helped to add more paved roads. The most important is a 1000 km north-south road leading from the Russian border at Sühbaatar to the Chinese border at Zamyn-Üüd. The air transport company of Mongolia is MIAT.
Petroleum products are mainly (80%), imported from Russia, which makes Mongolia vulnerable to supply side shocks. This is one strong example of the influence of Mongolia's neighbors on its economy.
[edit] Demographics
Demographics of Mongolia (2005 FAO data; number of inhabitants in thousands).Main article: Demographics of Mongolia
Mongolia's total population as of July 2007 is estimated at around just 2.9 million people ranking at around 138th in the world in terms of population. It has a very small population relative to its two border neighbors, China and Russia. Though the majority of Mongolian citizens are of Mongol descent there are small populations of Kazakh, Tuvan, and Tungus peoples. Mongolia's population growth rate is estimated at 1.54% (2000 census). About two-thirds of the total population is under age 30, 36% of whom are under 14. This relatively young and rapidly growing population has, as in many developing countries, placed strains on Mongolia's economy. According to the World Factbook, 50% of Mongolia's population is Buddhist-Lamaist, which is related to Tibetan Buddhism. 40% is listed as having no religion, 6% is Shamanist or Christian, and 4% is Muslim.
A young Mongolian boy in front of a ger in the countrysideLife in sparsely populated Mongolia has become more urbanized. Nearly half of the people live in the capital and in other provincial centers. Semi-nomadic life still predominates in the countryside where many families stay in villages during the cold winters and live in gers during the summer, though agricultural communities that are settled year-round are becoming more common. Around 40% of the population continue to live a traditional nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle.[10]
Ethnic Mongols account for about 85% of the population and consist of Khalkha and other groups, all distinguished primarily by dialects of the Mongol language. The Khalkha make up 90% of the ethnic Mongol population. The remaining 10% include Buryats, Durbet Mongols and others in the north and Dariganga Mongols in the east. Turkic peoples (Kazakhs, Tuvans, and Uyghurs) constitute 7% of Mongolia's population, and the rest are Tungusic peoples, Chinese, and Russians. Most, but not all, Russians left the country following the withdrawal of economic aid and collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
[edit] Languages
The official language of Mongolia is Khalkha Mongolian, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet, and is spoken by 90% of the population. A variety of different dialects are spoken across the country. In the west the Kazakh and Tuvan languages, among others, are also spoken. The Russian language is the most frequently spoken foreign language in Mongolia, followed by English, though English has been gradually replacing Russian as the second language.[citation needed] Korean has gained a popularity as tens of thousands of Mongolians work in South Korea.[11] Interest in Chinese, as the language of the second neighbouring power has been growing. Japanese is also popular among the younger people. A number of older educated Mongolians speak some German, as they studied in the former East Germany, while a few speak other languages from the former Eastern Bloc. Besides that, many younger Mongolians are fluent in the Western European languages as they study or work in foreign countries including Germany, France and Italy.
Mongolian is one of the Mongolic languages. Mongolic is frequently included in the Altaic languages, a group of languages named after the Altay Mountains that also includes the Turkic, and Tungusic languages, and sometimes, Korean and Japanese.
[edit] Religion
Gandantegchinlen Khiid, Buddhist monastery in UlaanbaatarVarious forms of tengriism and shamanism have been widely practiced throughout the history of what is now modern day Mongolia, as such beliefs were common among nomadic people in Asian history. Such beliefs gradually gave way to Tibetan Buddhism, but shamanism has left a mark on Mongolian religious culture. Indeed, some shamanistic practices and traditions, such as the use of ovoo as religious sites, are still practiced.
Throughout much of the twentieth century, the communist government ensured that the religious practices of the Mongolian people were largely repressed. Khorloogiin Choibalsan complied with the orders of Joseph Stalin, destroying almost all of Mongolia's over 700 Buddhist monasteries and killing thousands of monks.
Lama monastery in TsetserlegThe fall of communism in 1991 restored the legality of public religious practice, and Tibetan Buddhism, which had been the predominant religion in the region before the rise of Communism, again rose to become the most widely practiced religion in Mongolia. The end of religious repression in the 1990s also allowed for other religions, such as Islam and Christianity, to spread in the country.
See also: Buddhism in Mongolia, Islam in Mongolia
[edit] Education
This short section requires expansion.
During the state socialist period, education was one of the areas of significant achievement in Mongolia. Illiteracy was virtually eliminated, in part through the use of seasonal boarding schools for children of nomadic families. Funding to these boarding schools was cut in the 1990s, contributing to slightly increased illiteracy.
Primary and secondary education formerly lasted ten years, but has been expanded to eleven years recently and is set to be expanded further to twelve years.
Mongolian national universities are all spin-offs from the National University of Mongolia and Mongolian University of Science and Technology
The broad liberalization of the 1990s led to a boom in private institutions of higher education, although many of these establishments have difficulty living up to their name of "college" or "university".
[edit] Health
This short section requires expansion.
Health care in Mongolia is rapidly improving, leading to a higher life expectancy.
According to the World Factbookaverage childbirth (fertility rate) is around 2.25 per woman (2007), average life expectancy is 67 years, and the infant mortality rate is at 4% (2% according National Ministry of Health in 2006 [12]) .
The health sector comprises 17 specialized hospitals and centers, 4 regional diagnostic and treatment centers, 9 district and 21 aimag general hospitals, 323 soum hospitals, 18 feldsher posts, 233 family group practices, and 536 private hospitals and 57 drug supply companies/pharmacies. In 2002 the total number of health workers was 33273, of which 6823 were doctors, 788 pharmacists, 7802-nurses and 14091 mid-level personnel. At present, there are 27.7 physicians and 75.7 hospital beds per 10.000 population overall.
[edit] Culture
Main article: Culture of Mongolia
Horse men during Naadam festival in July.The main festival is Naadam, which has been organised for centuries, consists of three Mongolian traditional sports, archery, horse-racing (over long stretches of open country, not the short racing around a track practiced in the West), and wrestling. Nowadays it is held on July 11 to July 13 in the honour of the anniversaries of the National Democratic Revolution and foundation of the Great Mongol State. Another very popular activity called Shagaa is the "flicking" of sheep ankle bones at a target several feet away, using a flicking motion of the finger to send the small bone flying at targets and trying to knock the target bones off the platform. This contest at Naadam is very popular and develops a serious audience among older Mongolians. In Mongolia, the khoomii, or throat singing, style of music is popular, particularly in parts of Western Mongolia.
The ornate symbol in the leftmost bar of the national flag is a Buddhist icon called soyombo. It represents the sun, moon, stars, and heavens per standard cosmologic symbology abstracted from that seen in traditional thangka paintings.
[edit] Sports and recreation
Mongolia's Naadam festival takes place over three days in the summer and includes horse racing, archery, and Mongolian wrestling. These three sports, traditionally recognized as the three primary masculine activities, are the most widely watched and practiced sports throughout the country.
Örgöö, main arena of the Mongolian wrestling in UlaanbaatarHorse riding is especially central to Mongolian culture. The long-distance races that are showcased during Naadam festivals are one aspect of this, as is the popularity of trick riding. One example of trick riding is the story that the Mongolian military hero Damdin Sühbaatar scattered coins on the ground and then picked them up while riding a horse at full gallop.
Other sports such as table tennis, basketball, and soccer are increasingly getting popular. More Mongolian table tennis players are competing internationally. Wrestling is the most popular of all Mongol sports. It is the highlight of the Three Manly Games of Naadam. Historians claim that Mongol-style wrestling originated some seven thousand years ago. Hundreds of wrestlers from different cities and aimags around the country take part in the national wrestling competition.
There are no weight categories or age limits. Each wrestler has his own attendant herald. The aim of the sport is to knock one's opponent off balance and throw him down, making him touch the ground with his elbow and knee.
The winners are honored with ancient titles: the winner of the fifth round gets the honorary title of nachin (falcon), of the seventh and eighth rounds zaan (elephant), and of the tenth and eleventh rounds arslan (lion). The wrestler who becomes the absolute champion is awarded the title of avarga (Titan). Every subsequent victory at the national Naadam-festival will add an epithet to the avarga title, like "Invincible Titan to be remembered by all".
Beginning in 2003, the Mongolian parliament adopted a new law on Naadam, making amendments to some of the wrestling titles. The titles of iarudi and Hartsaga (Hawk) were added to the existing above-mentioned rules.
The traditional wrestling costume includes an open-fronted jacket, tied around the waist with a string. This is said to have come into use after the champion of a wrestling competition many years ago was discovered to be a woman. The jacket was introduced to ensure that only men could compete.
Mongolia's traditional wrestlers have made the transition to Japanese sumo wrestling with great success. Asashoryu was the first Mongolian to be promoted to the top sumo rank of yokozuna in 2003 and was followed by his countryman Hakuho in 2007.
Football is also played in Mongolia. The Mongolia national football team began playing again in the 1990s; it has yet to qualify for a major tournament. The Mongolia Premier League is the top domestic competition.
Several Mongolian women have excelled in pistol shooting: Munkhbayar Dorjsuren is a double world champion and Olympic bronze medal winner (now representing Germany), while Otryad Gundegmaa and Tsogbadrakh Munkhzul are, as of May 2007 ranked second and third in the world in the 25 m Pistol event.[13]
[edit] Architecture
A temple in the Dashichoiling ensemble in UlaanbaatarThe traditional Mongolian dwelling is known as a yurt (Mongolian: ger). According to Mongolian artist and art critic N. Chultem, yurts and tents were the basis for development of the traditional Mongolian architecture. In the 16th ad 17th centuries, lamaseries were built throughout the country. Many of them started as yurt-temples. When they needed to be enlarged to accommodate the growing number of worshippers, the Mongolian architects used structures with 6 and 12 angles with pyramidal roofs to approximate to the round shape of a yurt. Further enlargement led to a quadratic shape of the temples. The roofs were made in the shape of marquees.[14] The trellis walls, roof poles and layers of felt were replaced by stone, brick, beams and planks, and became permanent.[15]
A yurt in front of the Gurvansaikhan MountainsChultem distinguished three styles in traditional Mongolian architecture: Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese as well as combinations of the three. Among the first quadratic temples was Batu-Tsagaan (1654) designed by Zanabazar. An example of the yurt-style architecture is the lamasery Dashi-Choiling in Ulan Bator. The temple Lavrin (XVIII century) in the Erdene Zuu lamasery was built in the Tibetan tradition. An example of a temple built in the Chinese tradition is the lamasery Choijing Lamiin Sume (1904), which is a museum today. The quadratic temple Tsogchin in lamasery Gandan in Ulaanbaatar is a combination of the Mongolian and Chinese tradition. The temple of Maitreya (disassembled in 1938) is an example of the Tibeto-Mongolian architecture.[14] Dashi-Choiling monastery has commenced a project to restore the temple and the 80-feet sculpture of Maitreya.
[edit] Music
Main article: Music of Mongolia
A traditional Mongolian musician playing Morin Khuur
[edit] Popular music
This short section requires expansion.
The first rock band of Mongolia was Soyol-Erdene, founded in the 1960s. Their Beatles-like manner was severely criticised by the Communist censorship. It was followed by Mungunhurhree, Ineemseglel, Urgoo, etc., carving out the path for the genre in the harsh environment of Communist ideology. Mungunhurhree and Haranga were to become the pioneers in the Mongolia's heavy rock music. Haranga approached its zenith in the late 1980s and 1990s.
The leader of Haranga, famous guitarist Enh-Manlai, generously helped the growth of their following generations of rockers. Among the followers of Haranga was the band Hurd. In the early 1990s group Har-Chono put the beginning for Mongolia's folk-rock merging the elements of the Mongolian tenuto song (poorly described as "long" song) into the genre.
By that time, the environment for development of artisitic thought had become largely liberal thanks to the new democratic society in the country. The 1990s saw development of rap, techno, hip-hop and also boy bands and girl bands flourished at the turn of the century.
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