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The first capital of the recent Mongolian Empire was called Urguu and was located come 420km from Ulaanbaatar. Situated in Arkhangai Aimag at the Da Khuree Monastery, it was the home to Zanabazar who had been proclaimed the head of Buddhism in Mongolia. The city moved several times along the Tuul, Orkhon and Selenge rivers.

Ulaanbaatar had been around long before then though as a spiritual center for the Buddhists. Around the start of the 19th century, over 100 Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries served a population of about 50,000 in Ulaanbaatar. Most of the temples and monasteries, along with their belongings, were destroyed during the Stalinist purges of the late 1930s. Gandantegchilen monastery survived because the communists kept it as a showcase to impress foreigners. Roughly meaning 'the great place of complete joy', Gandan is one of Ulaanbaatar's most amazing sights. Within it are several glorious temples adorned with gold and jewels. The 150 or so monks who live here do their bit to bring the temples back to life with plenty of chanting and ceremonial sing.

Ulaanbaatar was built in its current location in 1779 and named the 'City of Felt'. It then became known as the Great Camp and was ruled under the Bogd Khaan. When Mongolia gained independence in 1911, the city became the capital of Outer Mongolia. It was invaded in 1918 by China, and then three years later by the Russians. In 1924, the city was named Ulaanbaatar (Red Hero) and declared the official capital of Mongolia. In 1933, Ulaanbaatar became an autonomous region from Tov Aimag. The Russian influence for more than seventy years left Ulaanbaatar a relatively young and unattractive city. Many of the original buildings, including monasteries have been destroyed and replaced by Soviet-style apartment buildings.

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