The Russian road to China (1910) (14572309367)

Altanbulag ( mn, Алтанбулаг, "golden spring") is a sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

. It is located about 25 km from the provincial capital of Sükhbaatar, on the border with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

opposite the town of

Kyakhta Kyakhta (russian: Кя́хта, ; bua, Хяагта, Khiaagta, ; mn, Хиагт, Hiagt, ) is a town and the administrative center of Kyakhtinsky District in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located on the Kyakhta River near the Mongolia–Rus ...

. Altanbulag is the location of the Altanbulag Free Trade Zone (, ''Altanbulag qudaldaany çölööt büs'').

History

Altanbulag began as a trading outpost across the Kyakhta River from the Russian town of

during Qing rule of Mongolia in 1730. The name of that city was called Maimaicheng (Mongolian: Худалдаачин, English: City of Buying and Selling) at the first and later renamed to Kyakhta (Mongolian: Khiagt). Also people used other names such as "Mongolian Khyahta" and "Southern Kyakhata". John-Tallis-1851-Tibet-Mongolia-and-Manchuria-NE

John-Tallis-1851-Tibet-Mongolia-and-Manchuria-NE

Following the

Treaty of Kyakhta The Treaty of Kyakhta (or Kiakhta),, ; , Xiao'erjing: بُلِيًاصِٿِ\ٿِاكْتُ تِيَوْيُؤ; mn, Хиагтын гэрээ, Hiagtiin geree, along with the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689), regulated the relations between Imperial ...

in 1727 each side built a trading post on its side of the border. Construction began in 1730. It was perhaps 500 to 700 feet south of Kyakhta, upstream on the small Kyakhta River. The town was square, with wooden walls and, after 1756, a three-foot wide ditch. Each wall had a gate which led to two major streets which intersected in the center. Each gate had a 25-foot watchtower manned by members of the Mongol garrison. The main avenues were about 25 feet wide, but the other streets and alleys were narrow. The larger houses had interior courtyards where trading was done. These courtyards were generally better kept than the public areas. The southwestern quarter of town was occupied by "Bukharans" as the Russians called traders from Central Asia. Women were forbidden to live in the town, apparently to keep Chinese merchants from becoming permanent residents. The rule was evaded but still in force in 1908. The post was administered by the 'Dzgarguchei' who was replaced by the

Lifanyuan The Lifan Yuan (; ; Mongolian: Гадаад Монголын төрийг засах явдлын яам, ''γadaγadu mongγul un törü-yi jasaqu yabudal-un yamun'') was an agency in the government of the Qing dynasty of China which administered ...

every two years. For some purposes the Dzarguchei dealt with the Tushetu Khan in Urga who was partly supervised by a Manchu resident. On 13 March 1921, a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

-backed People's Provisional Government of Mongolia was established at Altanbulag. This government went on to oust the government of

Roman Ungern von Sternberg Nikolai Robert Maximilian Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg (russian: link=no, Роман Фёдорович фон Унгерн-Штернберг, translit=Roman Fedorovich fon Ungern-Shternberg; 10 January 1886 – 15 September 1921), often refer ...

and later formed the

Mongolian People's Republic The Mongolian People's Republic ( mn, Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс, БНМАУ; , ''BNMAU''; ) was a socialist state which existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia in East Asia. It w ...

in 1924.

Names

Today, the town is known as Altanbulag in both the Mongolian and Buryat languages. During the Qing dynasty, the town was known as Maimachen ( mn, Наймаа хот (Худалдаачин), , , , , , , , etc.; in Russian), City of Buying and Selling in English) which derived from the Chinese name . In Mongolian, it was known as Övör Khiagt (Өвөр Хиагт, ''South

'').

References

*Clifford M. Foust, "Muscovite and Mandarin: Russia's Trade with China and its Setting, 1727–1805, 1969

External links

Altanbulag Free Trade Zone
{{Coord, 50, 19, 00, N, 106, 29, 39, E, display=title, region:MN_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in Mongolia Districts of Selenge Province Mongolia–Russia border crossings

History

Names

See also

References

External links