The capital city Ulaanbaatar /or Ulan Bator/ is a roaming metropolis with 1.3 million residents. It is by all means the heart of the country, on top of being cultural, economic and industrial centre, it is located in the eastern center of the country landscape, by the Tuul river valley and Bogd Khan Mountain on its south. First founded in 1639, name of the city had been changed several times. In 1924 the current name “Ulaanbaatar” meaning Red-Hero in English was given, replacing “Urgoo” (Urga).
Historical Gandan monastery, established in 1809 played an important role in forming the city, as it became the largest learning center of Tibetan Buddhism at that time. In 1930, Ulaanbaatar was still a town of gers and small wooden houses, but following the end of WWII Soviet Russian wave rushed through Mongolian land and started the majority of western styled building operations which continued until the democratic revolution of 1990. Although most of the residential apartments, offices and factories are identical with that of any Soviet era cities, Ulaanbaatar’s skyline has dramatically changed following the boom of modern high rise buildings in 2010’s.
