Mongolia is divided into Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region under China, and Outer Mongolia, the original Mongolia founded by Genghis Khan. I travelled to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, for the very first time.
Table of Contents
Excursions from Ulaanbaatar
Arriving in and getting to Ulaanbaatar
You’ve touched down at Chinggis Khaan International, and you’re ready to start exploring. Chinggis Khaan International Airport, also referred to as New Ulaanbaatar International Airport, is the primary airport serving Ulaanbaatar and is Mongolia’s only international airport completed in 2021 with technical and financial aids from the Japanese government.
The travel time takes approximately 1 hours and brings you through some of the pastures along the way. But because it was May (and although it’s spring time), the grass looked grey and dull. May is not the best time to visit because it is the rainy season and you don’t get that often in Mongolia, which is generally dry the whole time. One more month, it would go into summer and then everything will be perfect.
About 10 min away from the airport, we were greeted with a very familiar sight of horses and gers on the rolling hills with absolutely beautiful blue sky – just like the scene from the Nippon Paint TV ad.
Ulaanbaatar is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. In the Western world, Ulaanbaatar was generally known as Urga or Khuree until 1924, and afterward as Ulan Bator (a spelling derived from the Russian Улан-Батор).
It is the country’s cultural, industrial and financial heart, the centre of Mongolia’s road network and connected by rail to both the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia and the Chinese railway system.
With a population of 1.6 million, it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The city has a Russian feel to it because of the Soviet-era Neoclassical buildings that were built in the 50s. It is also worth taking a few days to explore its eclectic variety of museums.
Ulaanbaatar has all the conveniences that you would find at home – Western fast-food brands and in more recent times, Korean brands like Tom-Tom and GS25.
Sukhbaatar Square | Чингисийн талбай
Sukhbaatar Square is the central square of the capital city Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It was briefly called Chinggis Khaan Square (2013-2016) because the Democratic Party won the election and decided to rename the square to a more neutral hero than Sukhbaatar. In 2016, they lost the elections.
In the middle of Sukhbaatar Square, is the statue of Damdin Sukhbaatar on horseback. The spot was chosen because that was where Sukhbaatar’s horse had urinated (a good omen) on July 8, 1921 during a gathering of the Red Army. Not so great because it brought about 70 years of communist rule.
A peaceful anti-communism protest was held here in 1990, which led to the modern democratic Mongolia. Today, the square is occasionally used for ceremonies, concerts, and festivals, but it is also a relaxed place where children drive toy cars and ride bikes.
Damdin Sukhbaatar Statue
After many centuries under Qing Dynasty control, the Mongols once again became independent in 1911 under the rule of their national Buddhist leader, the Bogd Khan. However, their independence was assured primarily because Russia and Nationalist China faced off against each other. The Chinese took advantage of the 1917 Communist Revolution which put Russia in turmoil to invade and cruelly subjugate the Mongolians. The hero of the day was Damdin Sukhbaatar who smuggled out a letter from the Bogd Khan asking Bolshevik Russians for help. It was hidden in his hollowed out horsewhip. He returned at the head of the Mongolian Army with Bolshevik Russian allies to liberate Mongolia in July 1921, which started the Soviet Communist rule for the next 70 years.
Parliament of Mongolia | Засгийн газрын ордон
The Government Palace houses various state organs such as the State Great Khural (the Parliament of Mongolia) and offices of its members, as well as the offices of the President and Prime Minister. It is sometimes referred to by Ulaanbaatar residents as the “Saaral Ordon,” or “Grey Palace” due to the exterior’s former colour (it was painted white in 2007). A statue of Chinggis Khaan is located in the centre of the building and is flanked by Ögedei on the left and Kublai on the right.
Chingis Khaan Statue
Genghis Khan (c.1158-1227) was one of the world’s greatest militarist and conquerer who built the largest land empire in the world. At its peak, his Mongol Empire spanned more than 11 million square miles, stretching from Korea to Europe and bringing Eastern and Western cultures into contact. Remembered for his ruthlessness and bloodlust—and for his purported millions of genealogical descendants—he left a broad and surprising legacy.
Uguudei Khaan Statue
Ögedei Khan (1186-1241) is the third son of Genghis Khan and the second ruler of the Mongolian Empire; he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun. During Ogedei’s reign, the Mongols finally destroyed the Jin Dynasty and began their war against the Southern Song. It was also during his time that the Mongols launched their first campaigns against Korea. To the west, the Mongols established permanent control of Persia. The Russian steppes and Eastern Europe were conquered as well and Western Europe was only spared by the Great Khan’s death in 1241.
Kublai Khan Statue
Kublai Khan (1215-1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294. Kublai Khan did what Genghis could not—conquer China. Leading the Mongols to defeat China, Kublai Khan fulfilled his grandfather’s ambitions to rule one of history’s largest empires.
The statue of Genghis Khan is guarded with two of his generals Muqali and Bo’orchu. This facade is new because before 2005, this space was occupied by Sukhbaatar’s Mausoleum, built by the order of Mongolia People’s Party. Its founder Khorloogiin Choibalsan was interned in the mausoleum in 1954 as well.
Chinggis Khaan National Museum | Чингис хаан Үндэсний музей
Genghis Khan is now seen as a national hero and founding father of Mongolia, but during the era of Soviet rule in the 20th century, the mere mention of his name was banned. Hoping to stamp out all traces of Mongolian nationalism, the Soviets tried to suppress the Khan’s memory by removing his story from school textbooks and forbidding people from making pilgrimages to his birthplace in Khentii.
Genghis Khan was eventually restored to Mongolian history after the country won independence in 1991, and he’s since become a recurring motif in art and popular culture. The Great Khan lends his name to the airport, a brand new museum dedicated to him and his portrait even appears on Mongolian currency.
State Opera and Ballet Academic Theatre | Улсын Дуурь Бүжгийн Эрдмийн Театр
Opened in 1963 playing Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, the State Opera and Ballet Theatre, also called Ulaanbaatar Opera House, is the salmon-pinkish building on the southeast corner of Sukhbaatar Square. Unfortunately it was under renovation when I was there. Fortunately it was retained thanks to conservationists in Mongolia that opposed to demolition of these Soviet-era buildings.
The Natural History Museum was torn down and made way for Chinggis Khaan Museum. They wanted to tear down the National Theatre, National Library and other Soviet-era buildings in 2019 but due to the protests, the decision was reversed in 2020 and the fundings were used for conservation instead.
Cultural Centre Palace
A gift presented by the Soviets in 1987, this large building is divided in 4 wings and integrating various artistic halls : the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Mongolian Theatre, and the National Philharmonic Hall. Concerts including the traditional instrument Moriin Khuur (horsehead fiddle) are performed throughout the year on a stage that can accommodate more than 100 performers.
National Academic Drama Theatre | Улсын Драмын Эрдмийн Театр
The National Academic Drama Theatre is located at Tsedenbal Square Park, and every evening at 6pm puts on a performance of traditional music and dance. In the park is Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal Statue built in 2000 in memory of Mongolia’s statesman and head of state Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal (1916-1991)
Chin Van Khanddorj Statue
Mijiddorjiin Khanddorj (1869-1915), also known by his title Chin Van (親王; prince) Khanndorj, served as the first minister of foreign affairs of the Bogd Khanate of Mongolia in the government of the Bogd Khan from 1911 to 1913 and founded the nation’s diplomatic service. He died, allegedly poisoned, in 1915.
The statue by sculptor G. Enkhtur. was erected in 2011 on the occasion of the centennial of Mongolia’s independence and the birth of Mongolia’s modern foreign service. His former residence is behind the gers (traditional tents used by the nomads). This is now a Mongolian restaurant.
Wedding palace | Гэрлэх ёслолын ордон
In Ulaanbaatar, couples marry officially at the National Wedding Ceremony Palace and then proceed to the ceremony and party in the evening. Over 40 thousand couples in Ulaanbaatar walked through these doors to hold their wedding.
The beautifully decorated entrance is the result of the work of the Mongolian artist D. Amgalan (1933-2008), and crafted by the students of the Fine Art School of Mongolia. With a unique design and beautifully decorated wedding hals, this iconic building erected in 1976 by the Soviets as a wedding palace.
Choijin Lama Temple Museum
In the 1920s, Communist revolutionaries took over the Mongolian government with the support of the Soviet Union and sought to suppress traditional religion around the country. Violent purges in 1937–38 led to the arrest and execution of thousands of lamas. All the monasteries in Mongolia—over 1,000—were shuttered, and most of them completely destroyed, including their contents of holy books and other religious objects. Only a few surviving buildings were nationalised and preserved for non-religious purposes—among them, the Green Palace or Winter Residence of the Bogd Khan, transformed into a museum, and the Choijin Lama Temple, which also survived intact. The site was converted into a Museum of Religious History in 1942, exhibiting artefacts from destroyed monasteries. While the purge of 1937–8 did not repeat itself, religious worship and ceremonies remained prohibited in Mongolia until 1990.
National Museum of Mongolia | Монголын Үндэсний Музей
The National Museum of Mongolia is the nation’s largest museum and holds a collection of over 57,000 objects relating to Central Asian history and the history of Mongolia from prehistory to the end of the 20th century, with a portion of the collected artifacts on display in ten exhibition halls. One collection has significant displays of the traditional dress of various Mongolian ethnic groups.
Walking Around Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar is very flat and very suitable to walk around fortunately, given the horrible situation with illegal taxis. And everything is within walking distance of Sukhbaatar Square.
There are many interesting sculptures and monuments along the streets around the square, as many founders and martyrs are remembered through large and small statues.
It was almost springtime and early bloomers like these beautiful plum blossoms were out along Chinggis Avenue.
And like all modern cities, Ulaanbaatar has its fair share of traffic jam. In fact, the jam was quite extraordinary as there were little alternative routes in and out of the city centre. And when there’s a heavy rain, like last night, the traffic will get worse because of poor drainage.
The Sukhbaatar Square is as beautiful in the night as it is in the morning. However, Ulaanbaatar is just any large urban city, low crime rate doesn’t mean no crime. There were stories of people that got mugged on the streets and alleys, so if you are travelling alone (like me), try to walk along the main streets. They are well lit and safer to walk along.
And to round up the trip, here’s a beautiful MTV of Sokol “Contact” shot in Mongolia by cinematographer Tobias Kubli.
Visited May 2023
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