Ulan Bator, or Ulaanbaatar (Улаанбаатар, ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨ ᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠤᠷ [Ulaɣan Baɣatar]) in Mongolian, is the capital of Mongolia. In January 2007 its population was estimated at 988,500.[1]
Ulan Bator has had numerous names in its history. From 1639–1706 it was known as Örgöö (Mongolian: Өргөө = “palace yurt”) and from 1706–1911 as Khüree (Mongolian: Хүрээ = “camp”), later as Ikh or Da Khüree (Mongolian: Их Хүрээ = “great 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 again to Niislel Khüree (Mongolian: Нийслэл Хүрээ = “capital city”).
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 Sühbaatar, who liberated Mongolia from Ungern von Sternberg's troops, Chinese rule, and called in 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.
Geography
Ulan Bator is located at about 1300 metres 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.
Ulan Bator is the coldest national capital in the world, with an average annual temperature of -1.3°C (29.7°F).[2]
History
Founded in 1639, Ulan Bator, then Urga, was originally located at the site of the Buddhist monastery of Da Khuree (Mongolian: Даа хүрээ [Daa hüree]), around 400 km from the present Ulaanbaator in Arhangay Province and was the seat of the first Jebtsundamba, Zanabazar.
It was moved often to various places along the Selenga, Orhon and Tuul rivers until reaching its present location in the late 18th century, on the high road from Beijing to Kiakhta (Kiachta), about 700 miles northwest of Beijing and 165 miles south of the trading town of Kiakhta 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 Church. This 'resplendently divine lama' resided in a palace on the southern side of the town, and acted as the spiritual colleague of the Chinese amban. 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 dollar 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 Kiakhta 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 Urga, 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 (The Chinese Empire, ed. M. Broomhall, London, 1907, p. 357).
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.
Administration
Ulaanbaatar is divided into nine districts (düüregüüd): Baganuur, Bagakhangai, Bayangol, Bayanzurkh, Chingeltei, Khan Uul, Nalaikh, Songino Khairkhan, and Sühbaatar (district); each district is subdivided into khoroo. Ulaanbaatar is governed by a city council (the Citizen's Representatives Hural) with 40 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 Aymag, which surrounds the municipality of Ulaanbaatar.
Transportation
Interurban 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 ancient Soviet vehicles though Japan and Korea have recently donated and sold modern buses to the city. A secondary transit system of microbuses (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; microbuses 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.
Colleges and universities
Ulan Bator has 5 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 numbers of private and public colleges. A historical library contains a wealth of ancient Mongolian, Chinese, and Tibetan manuscripts.
Description
The city consists of a central district built in Soviet 1940s and 1950s-style architecture, surrounded by and mingled with residential concrete towerblocks and large 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 are the Gandan (with a 26 meter high gilt image of Maitreya Bodhisattva) and Choijin-Lama-Monasteries and the Bogd Khan's winter palace The main sights are:
- Natural History Museum. Features many dinosaur fossils found in Mongolia.
- Sühbaatar's mausoleum
- Gandantegchinlen Khiid Monastery, with a 25-meter-high statue of Migjid Janraisig
- Winter Palace of Bogd Khan
- 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.
- Sühbaatar Square, in the government district. In the center of Sühbaatar Square there is a statue of Damdin Sühbaatar on horseback. On the north side of Sühbaatar Square is the Mongolian Parliament building, featuring a large statue of Chinggis Khan at the top of the front steps.
- Central Stadium. The Naadam festival is held here every July.
Nearby attractions
- Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, approximately 70km from Ulan Bator
Sister Cities
- Tianjin, People's Republic of China
- Taipei, Taiwan
- Seoul, South Korea
- Denver, Colorado, USA
- Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
- Miyakonojo, Miyazaki, Japan
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- ^ a b Statistics office of the city of Ulan Bator, stat2701.pdf pop2006.01.01.pdf
- ^ geography.about.com coldcapital.html
