Play

Ulaanbaatar

Capital of MongoliaUlaanbaatar sits in a valley on the Tuul River in north-central Mongolia, at about 1,300 m above sea level, with Bogd Khan Mountain rising to the south.

Why it's the capital

The city began in 1639 as a moving Buddhist monastery that changed its location 29 times before settling here for good in 1778. In 1924 it became the capital of the new Mongolian People's Republic.

Fun facts

  1. The name means "Red Hero", possibly in honour of the revolutionary Damdin Sükhbaatar; earlier names include Urga and Ikh Khüree.
  2. It is the coldest national capital in the world, measured by average yearly temperature.
  3. The Trans-Mongolian Railway, completed in 1956, links the city with both Moscow and Beijing.

Finding it on the globe

Mongolia lies between Russia and China; aim north of the country's middle, much closer to the Russian border than to the Chinese one, and northwest of Beijing.

Sources: Wikipedia: Ulaanbaatar