Khovd ( ), formerly spelt Kobdo, is the capital of the

Khovd Province Khovd (; ), alternatively romanized as Khobhd, is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country. Its capital is also named Khovd. Khovd province is approximately 1,580 km from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's cap ...

in western

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 administrative seat of the Jargalant District.

Geography and climate

Khovd is situated at the foot of the

Altay Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with th ...

, and is bisected by the Buyant River. The Khar-Us Lake is located approximately 25 km (15.5 mi) east of Khovd and is the site of a Strictly Protected Area (Mongolian Government designation), called the Mankhan Nature Preserve. In 1992, as the result of the Mongolian government passing a series of administrative and land reforms, Khovd was integrated as part of the Jargalant sum created in the area. The total city area is 80 km² (30.8 mi².) According to the

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 ...

, Khovd has a cold

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

, marked with long, dry, frigid winters and short warm summers. Precipitation is minimal and very heavily concentrated in summer.

History

The city was established by Galdan Boshogtu Khan of

Dzungaria Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand'), also known as Northern Xinjiang or Beijiang, is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. Bound by the Altai Mountains to the n ...

in the 17th century on the bank of the river Khovd in what is now Erdenebüren sum.

Horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

was developed around city Khovd using the land cultivating experience from Taranchi and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

n captives. The city was 'moved' by the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

administration after destruction of the

Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate ( Mongolian: ), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar 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 Kyrgyz ...

after 1757 on to the bank of the river Buyant. On 7 August 1912, the Mongol troops under leadership of Manlai Baatur Damdinsuren, Khatanbaatar Magsarjav and Ja Lama Dambiijantsan captured the city of Khovd, destroyed all the Manchu-Chinese garrisons and abolished the governance of the Qing-appointed

amban Amban (Manchu language, Manchu and Mongolian language, Mongol: ''Amban'', Standard Tibetan, Tibetan: ་''am ben'', zh, t=昂邦, Uyghur language, Uighur:''am ben'') is a Manchu language term meaning "high official" ( zh, t=大臣, p=dàchén ...

Population

The city had a population of 26,023 in 2000 (2000 census), 30,479 in 2003 (est.) and 28,601 in 2007.Khovd Aimag Statistical Office 2007 Annual Report
/ref> The 2010 population was recorded at 29,046. In 2005, Jargalant sum (the centre of Khovd Aimag) had 32,351 inhabitants (6,675 households), belonging to more than ten ethnic groups and nationalities such as Uuld, Khalkh,

Zakhchin The Zakhchin () is a subgroup of the Oirats residing in Khovd Province, Mongolia. Zakhchin means 'Border people'. They are so called because they originated from the border garrison (mainly from Torghut, Dorbet Oirat, and Dzungar) of the Dzung ...

, Torguud,

Uriankhai Uriankhai is a term of address applied by the Mongols to a group of forest peoples of the North, who include the Turkic-speaking Tuvans and Yakuts, while sometimes it is also applied to the Mongolian-speaking Altai Uriankhai. The Uria ...

Myangad The Myangad people live in Myangad sum of Khovd Province, 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&nbs ...

, Dörbet,

Bayads The Bayad (Mongol: Баяд/Bayad, ''lit. "the Riches"'') is the third largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia and they are a tribe in Four Oirats. Baya'ud were a prominent clan within the Mongol Empire. Baya'ud can be found in b ...

, Kazak, Chantuu and Üzemchin.

Infrastructure

* District heating of Khovd

Tourist attractions

* Museum of Khovd Province

References