Choir (; , ) is a city in east-central

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

. It is the capital of

Govisümber Province (, ; Gobi- Sümber) is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the center of the country. Its capital is Choir. Govisümber is the least populated Mongolian aimag. History Borjigon clan said in ''The Secret History ...

. Choir is officially known as Sümber sum.

History

Choir was a military base during the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

period. In 1989, the Soviet anti-aircraft missile units left Choir. The longest runway in Mongolia, now abandoned, is located 25 km N from Choir, a relic of that period. In 1992, the military cantonment passed into the jurisdiction of Govisümber Province, according to the 1992 constitution. Near the railway station is a statue commemorating Mongolia's first

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa (born 5 December 1947) is a Mongolian cosmonaut and military leader. He was the first Mongolian and second Asian to go into space. He also was Mongolia's Defense Minister of Mongolia, Defense Minister from 2000 to 20 ...

Geography

Location

Choir lies in the

Choir Depression The Choir Depression is a depression near Choir, Mongolia. It is about 150 km long and 10 to 20 km wide, about 500 m lower than the surrounding upland. It lies at an altitude of 1269 m. Uranium mines Uranium prospecting began in the ...

, a lowland strip about 150 km long and 10 to 20 km wide, about 500 m lower than the surrounding upland. It lies at an altitude of 1269 m.

Climate

Choir has a

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 se ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BSk'') with warm summers and severely cold winters. Most precipitation falls in the summer as rain, with some snow in the adjacent months of May and September. Winters are very dry.

Population

In 2002, a population of Choir city was 7,588 (and 9,207 with rural parts of Sümber sum), up from a population of 4,500 in 1979. For the end of 2006 estimations population was 7,998.

Economy

Choir has been declared a free enterprise zone. Along with Darkhan and

Erdenet Erdenet (; , 'precious, valuable') is the third-largest city in Mongolia and the provincial capital of Orkhon. Located in the northern Mongolia, it lies in a valley between the Selenge and Orkhon rivers about ( as the crow flies) northwest o ...

, it is one of three autonomous cities in Mongolia. Choir has a medium-security prison which can house 460 prisoners.

Transport

It lies along the

Trans-Mongolian Railway The Trans-Mongolian Railway (, ) connects Ulan-Ude on the Trans-Siberian Railway in Buryatia, Russia, with Ulanqab in Inner Mongolia, China, via Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. It was completed in 1956, and runs from northwest to south ...

, 250 km to the southeast of

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

. The

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

is considering a 430-km paved road from Choir to the Chinese border, the final stage of a north-south route through the country.

References

External links

{{Provincial capitals of Mongolia