Ulaanbaatar turns 369
The capital of Mongolia is Ulaanbaatar and it is the largest city of our country. As of 2008, its population is over one million. Ulaanbaatar is located in the north centre of the country. Today, our capital is turning 369 years old. The city was founded in 1639 as a Buddhist monastery center and, in the 20th century, grew into a major manufacturing center defined by its broad boulevards and squares and Socialist Classicist-style buildings. Ulaanbaatar has had numerous names in its history. From 1639–1706, it was known as Orgoo and from 1706–1911 as Ikh Khuree, Da Khuree or simply Khuree. Upon independence in 1911, with both the secular government and the Bogd Khan's palace present, the city's name changed to Niislel Khuree When the city became the capital of the new Mongolian People's Republic in 1924, its name was changed to Ulaanbaatar, in honor of Mongolia's national hero Damdin Sukhbaatar, whose warriors liberated Mongolia from Ungern von Sternberg's troops and Chinese occupation shoulder-to-shoulder with the Soviet Red Army.His statue still adorns Ulan Bator's central square. Founded in 1639 as a yurt monastery, Ulan Bator, then Orgoo, was first located at the lake Shireet Tsagaan nuur in what is now Ovorkhangai, around 250 km from the present site of Ulan Bator, and was mainly intended to be the seat of the first Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, Zanabazar. As a mobile monastery-town, it was often moved to various places along the Selenge, Orkhon and Tuul rivers, as supply and other needs would demand. During the Dzungar wars of the late 17th century, it was even moved to Inner Mongolia. As the city grew, it moved less and less. In 1778, the city settled for good at its current location, near the confluence of the Selbe and Tuul rivers and beneath Bogd Khan Uul, back then also on the caravan route from Beijing to Kyakhta. The city became the seat not only of the Jebtsundamba Khutugtus, but also of two Qing ambans, and a Chinese trade town grew several kilometers east of the city center. Ulaanbaatar was the site of demonstrations that led to Mongolia's transition to democracy and a market economy in 1990. A December 10, 1989 protest outside the Youth Culture Centre called for Mongolia to implement perestroika and glasnost in their full sense. Dissident leaders demanded free elections and economic reform. On January 14, 1990, the protesters, having grown from two hundred to some 1,000, met at the Lenin Museum in Ulan Bator. A demonstration in Sukhbaatar Square on Jan. 21 (in weather of -30 C) followed. After came weekend demonstrations in January and February and the forming of Mongolia's first opposition parties. On March 7 ten dissidents assembled in Sukhbaatar Square and went on hunger strike. Thousands of supporters joined them. More came on March 8, and the crowd grew more unruly; seventy people were injured and one killed. On March 9 the Communist MPRP government resigned. The new government announced Mongolia's first free elections, which were held in July. Since Mongolia's transition to market economy in 1990, the city has experienced further growth - especially in the yurt quarters, as construction of new blocks of flats had basically broken down in the 1990s - and population has doubled to now one million inhabitants, about 40% of Mongolia's entire population. This causes a number of social, environmental, and transportation problems. There are over 2000 big and middle-scale busses at the city’s transportation company. In this year, Ulaanbaatar is fighting to decrease its rubbish as well as reducing consumption of plastic bag which harmful to human health, and environment. Furthermore, we are working to decrease air pollution in Ulaanbaatar. Ardchilal 216/535 |
