Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar, formerly anglicised as Ulan Bator, is Mongolia's capital and largest city. A municipality, the city is not part of any aimag (province), and its population was over 1.3 million, almost half of the country's total population.Located in north central Mongolia, the municipality lies at an elevation of about 1300m in a valley on the Tuul River. It is the country's cultural, industrial and financial heart, the centre of Mongolia's road network and connected by rail to both the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia and the Chinese railway system.The city was founded in 1639 as a nomadic Buddhist monastic centre. In 1778, it settled permanently at its present location, the junction of the Tuul and Selbe rivers. Before that, it changed location twenty-eight times, with each location being chosen ceremonially. In the twentieth century, Ulaanbaatar grew into a major manufacturing center.Names and etymologyUlaanbaatar has been given numerous names in its history. Before 1911, the official name was Ikh Khüree (Их Хүрээ, "Great Settlement") or Daa Khüree (Даа Хүрээ, dà, "great"), or simply Khüree. The Chinese equivalent, Dà kùlún (大庫倫), was rendered into Western languages as "Kulun" or "Kuren."Upon independence in 1911, with both the secular government and the Bogd Khan's palace present, the city's name changed to Niĭslel Khüree (Нийслэл Хүрээ, "Capital Camp"). It is called Bogdiin Khuree (Богдын Хүрээ, Bogdiĭn Khüree, "Great Holy Khan's Monastery") in the folk song "Praise of Bogdiin Khuree". In western languages, the city at that time was most often referred to as Urga (from Өргөө, Örgöö, "Palace").