Ulaanbaatar

Ulan Bator, or Ulaanbaatar (Улаанбаатар, Baɣatar) in Mongolian, is the capital of the republic of Mongolia. In 2006 its population was estimated at just under a million citizens.

Geography

Modern Ulan Bator is located slightly east of the center of Outer Mongolia, at (47.92° N 106.92° E) on the Tuul Gol (or Tola) River, a subtributary of the Selenga, in a valley at the foot of the mountain Bogda Uul.

The old city is situated at 48 20' N., 107 30' E., on north and on a tributary of the Tuul River

History

Founded in 1639, Ulan Bator, then Urga, was originally located at the site of the Buddhist monastery of Da Khuree (Mongolian: Даа хүрээ 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 Peking to Kiakhta (Kiachta), about 700 m. N.W. of Peking and 165 m. S. of the trading town of Kiakhta on the Russian frontier. It is the holy city of the Mongols and the residence of the " Living Buddha," metropolitan of the Kalka tribes, who ranks third in degree of veneration among the dignitaries of the Lamaist Church. This " resplendently divine lama " resides in a sacred quarter on the western side of the town, and acts as the spiritual colleague of the Chinese amban. It 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.

When in 1904, on the occasion of the British expedition to Tibet, the Dalai Lama withdrew from his Tibetan capital Lhassa he went to Urga, where he remained until 1908. During his residence there the Dalai Lama would have no communication with the incumbent Urga Lama 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.

Names of Ulan Bator

Ulan Bator has had numerous names in its history. From 1639–1706 it was known as Urga (the Russian form of the Mongolian: Өргөө = “palace yurt”) and from 1706–1911 as Khuree (Mongolian: Хүрээ [Hüree = “camp”) and later Ikh Khuree (Mongolian: Их Хүрээ Hüree = “great camp”). Its Chinese name was K'ulun. Upon independence in 1911, with both the secular government and the Bogd Khan’s palace present, the city’s name changed again to Niislel Khuree (Mongolian: Нийслэл Хүрээ Hüree = “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 English, Ulan Bator was generally known as Urga (and sometimes Kuren) before 1924 and Ulan Bator afterwards.

City administration

Ulaanbaatar is divided into 9 districts. It is governed by a City council (Citizen's Representatives Hural) with 40 members, elected every 4 years. The City council appoints the Mayor. Current Mayor is Mr. Tsogt Batbayar.

Transport

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 and by rail to the Trans-Siberian railway and Chinese railroad systems, started with a railway from Peking to Urga, the first section of which, to Kalgan, was completed in 1909 under imperial China.

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, but sometimes no fare is charged (especially for tourists).

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

There are three distinct quarters in the old city: the Kuren or monastery, the residence of the "Living Buddha"; the Mongol city proper (in which lived some 13,000 monks in the early 20th century); and the Chinese town, the great trading quarter, two or three miles from the Mongol quarter, where the houses are more substantially built than in the Mongol town, and the streets have a well-to-do appearance. Besides the monks the inhabitants numbered about 25,000 in the early 20th century. The temples in the Mongol quarter are numerous and imposing, and in one is a gilt image of Maitreya Bodhisattva, 33 ft. in height and weighing 125 tons. The main sights are:

Natural History Museum
Sühbaatar's mausoleum
Gandantegchinlen Khiid Monastery, with a 25-meter-high statue of Migjid Janraisig
Winter Palace of Bogd Khan
Ulaanbaatar Opera House

Sources and external links

City of Ulaanbaatar official site (mongolian)
City council of Ulaanbaatar official site (mongolian)
Mayor of Ulaanbaatar official site (mongolian)
"Urga or Da Khuree" from A. M. Pozdneyev’s Mongolia and the Mongols

Cities in Mongolia | Ulaanbaatar

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