Ulaanbaatar - postcard set - 1

Ulaanbaatar

The capital city of Mongolia

Collection of 12 postcards

Cover

ULAANBAATAR

THE CAPITAL CITY OF MONGOLIA

Ulaanbaatar is the capital and largest city of Mongolia. The city is an independent municipality not part of any province, and its population as of 2008 is just over 1 million. Located in the north central part of the country, the city lies at an elevation of about 1,310 meters (4,300 ft) in a valley on the Tuul River, a sub tributary of the Selenge, in a valley at the foot of the nountain Bogd Khan Uul. It is the cultural, industrial, and financial heart of the country. The city was founded in 1639 initially as a nomandic Buddhist monastic center. Since 1778, it has been located in the Tuul river vallesy. In the 20th century, Ulaanbaatar has had numerous names in its history. When the city became the capital of the new Mongolian People's Republic in 1924, its name was changed to Ulaanbaatar. Due to its high elevation, relatively high latitude, and location hundreds of kilometers from any coast, Ulaanbaatar is the coldest national capital in the world, with a monsoon-influenced sub-arctic climate with brief, warm summers and long, very cold and dry winters. Precipitation is heavily concentrated in the warmer months. It has an average annual temperature of -1.3 °C (29.7 °F).