Mongolia

Overview

Modern times have brought increased urbanization, but the famed Mongolian nomadic lifestyle is still strong. When visiting Undur Dov to see how many Mongolians live, the experience is of a lifestyle as it is actually still being live. It is not just a museum exhibit representing a rose tinted view of the past. After some hiking around the Bogd mountains and a look at the Manzushiri Monastery, perhaps the national drink of fermented mare's milk should be tried.

A quarter of the Mongolian population live in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. There are a number of Buddhist monasteries and it has a history of changing its name and location that possibly explains the lack of things to see. Kharakhorum was once the capital of Mongolia. Its ruins surround the first Buddhist monastery in the country, the Erdene Zuu Monastery. This is once more active so care should be taken. Another monastery can be seen 360km north of Ulaanbaatar. The trip to the Amarbayasgalant Monastery is not that straight forward. The natural world has some interesting features in Mongolia. Amongst the longest fault lines in the world lies between a spot near lake Sangiin Dalai Nuur in Hovsgal Aimag west to the Khangiltsag river headwaters in the Khan-Khukhii Range. The giant Khovsgol Lake known as 'The Dark Blue Pearl' is home to a number of fish and bird species. The Khonguryn Els are 800m high, 100km long sand dunes which offer a different type of trekking. The Gobi desert and the Bayanzag are where...more

History

In 1203 AD a single Mongolian state was formed based on nomadic tribal groupings under the leadership of Genghis Khan. He and his immediate successors conquered nearly all of Asia and European Russia and sent armies as far as Central Europe and Southeast Asia. Genghis Khan's grandson Kublai Khan who conquered China and established the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368 AD) gained fame in Europe through the writings of Marco Polo.

Although Mongol-led confederations sometimes exercised wide political power over their conquered territories their strength declined rapidly after the Mongol dynasty in China was overthrown in 1368.

The Manchus a tribal group which conquered China in 1644 and formed the Qing dynasty were able to bring Mongolia under Manchu control in 1691 as Outer Mongolia when the Khalkha Mongol nobles swore an oath of allegiance to the Manchu emperor. The Mongol rulers of Outer Mongolia enjoyed considerable autonomy under the Manchus and all Chinese claims to Outer Mongolia following the establishment of the republic have rested on this oath. In 1727 Russia and Manchu China concluded the Treaty of Khiakta delimiting the border between China and Mongolia that exists in large part today.

Outer Mongolia was a Chinese province (1691-1911) an autonomous state under Russian protection (1912-19) and again a Chinese province (1919- 21). As Manchu authority in China waned and as Russia and Japan confronted each other Russia gave arms and diplomatic support to nationalists among the Mongol religious leaders and nobles. The Mongols accepted Russian aid and proclaimed their independence of Chinese rule...more