HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Uliastai ( mn, Улиастай; ), also spelled Uliyasutai or Oulia-Sontai, and sometimes known as Javkhlant, is a city in
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 ...
located in the western part of the country and from the capital
Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...
. Uliastai is the capital of
Zavkhan Province Zavkhan (; mn, Завхан, Zawhan, ) is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country, 1,104 km from Ulaanbaatar. Its capital is Uliastai. The aimag is named after the Zavkhan River, which forms the border ...
and was the 10th most populous city in the country with a population of 24,276 (2000 census). However, recent estimates have the city's population at 16,240 (.) making it the 16th most populous city in Mongolia. Uliastai is located in a river valley where the Chigestai and Bogdiin Gol rivers meet, and is surrounded by mountains on all sides. It is one of the most remote aimag capitals in Mongolia. Uliastai city has ''sum'' (district) status and forms an enclave within the surrounding Aldarkhaan ''sum''.


History

Alongside Khovd, Uliastai is one of the oldest settlements in Mongolia, and has long been an important center of
caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...
trade even into the 20th century. It was connected by camel caravan routes with Urga (now
Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...
) in the east, Khovd in the west,
Barkol Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County (sometimes Barkul or Balikul in English) is part of Hami Prefecture in Xinjiang and has an area of . It forms part of the China–Mongolia border (bordering the Mongolian provinces of Khovd and Govi-Altai) on the ...
and other points in
Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
in the southwest, and
Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the capital of Inner Mongolia in the north of the People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrative, economic and cultural center.''The N ...
in the southeast. The city was founded as a military garrison by the
Manchus The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
in 1733 during the Qing rule of Mongolia. Uliastai was the ''de facto'' capital of
Outer Mongolia Outer Mongolia was the name of a territory in the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of Mongolia and the Russian republic of Tuva. The historical region gain ...
, as the Qing
Amban Amban ( Manchu and Mongol: ''Amban'', Tibetan: ་''am ben'', , Uighur:''am ben'') is a Manchu language term meaning "high official", corresponding to a number of different official titles in the imperial government of Qing China. For insta ...
, the Governor General, located its office in Uliastai to keep eye on the
Khalkh The Khalkha ( Mongolian: mn, Халх, Halh, , zh, 喀爾喀) have been the largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin kh ...
Mongols to the east and the Oirad Mongols west of the
Khangai mountains The Khangai Mountains ( mn, Хангайн нуруу, Hangain nuruu, ); form a range in central Mongolia, some west of Ulaanbaatar. Name Two provinces of Mongolia are named after the Khangai mountains: Arkhangai (North Khangai) and Ovorkhan ...
. At its peak, the fortress held up to 3500 soldiers and was surrounded by a Chinese trading quarter, or "Maimaicheng". In March 1755, a
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
army departed from Uliastai as the vanguard in the
Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 ...
's final push against the
Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate, also written as the Zunghar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyzstan in the south, and from t ...
to the south west. During the Outer Mongolian Revolution of 1911 the Military Governor of Uliastai, his staff, and military guards, fled the Uliastai fortress under the protection of Cossack troops. A.V. Burdukov, ''V staroi i novoi Mongolii''. Vospominaniya, pis'ma
n old and new Mongolia. Reminiscences, letters N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
(Moscow, 1969)
Traces of Manchu rule can still be seen in Uliastai: the stone remnants of the governors fortress near the Bogdiin river are a short walk from town, the shackles and torture devices used by the Manchu are on display in the History Museum, and a hatag-laden stone near the central roundabout is carved with Chinese characters.


Transportation

The old Uliastai Airport has two unpaved runways and is close to the city, but no longer receives flights. In 2002, the Donoi Airport (or "New Uliastai Airport") was built 25 km west of the city near Aldarkhaan soum, and now serves Uliastai with regular flights to and from Ulaanbaatar.


Education

Uliastai is host to the Zavkhan branch of the
National University of Mongolia The National University of Mongolia ( mn, Монгол Улсын Их Сургууль, ''Mongol Ulsyn Ikh Surguuli'', abbreviated ''NUM'' or ''MUIS'') is a public university primarily located in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Established in 1942, it ...
. Originally established in 1974, it was granted the status of a full member of the NUM in 2010.


Features

Museums * Museum of Famous People – dedicated to former residents of Zavkhan aimag, the museum has artifacts from the lives of Mongolian prime ministers, presidents, generals and Buddhist saints (Хутагт). * History Museum – Zavkhan's natural and cultural history museum. Monasteries * Togs Boyant Javklhant – located on a hilltop overlooking the Chigestai river, just north of the main street, this temple features a traditional Mongolian ger, several
stupas A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...
and a large
Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...
statue. *Ochirpurev Tsogt – A small
Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and trans ...
temple on Main street near the museums. Javkhlant Tolgoi Next to Togs Boyant Javklhant temple, a hilltop pavilion surrounded by statues of elk, ibex, and
argali The argali (''Ovis ammon''), also known as the mountain sheep, is a wild sheep that roams the highlands of western East Asia, the Himalayas, Tibet, and the Altai Mountains. Description The name 'argali' is the Mongolian word for wild sheep. It ...
sheep. It's a quick hike from the center of town, and offers a good panorama of the city.


Climate

Uliastai experiences a
cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''BSk'') with long, dry, very cold winters and short, warm summers.


Sources


External links


Manchu Dynasty Government Structure, 1691–1910
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology {{Provincial capitals of Mongolia Aimag centers Districts of Zavkhan Province