City Asia
Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar is the capital city of Mongolia. Its name means 'red hero'. Winters there are very, very cold.
Ulaanbaatar is the capital of Mongolia, on the Tuul River at the foot of the Bogd Khan Mountain. It began in the 1600s as a settlement that moved from place to place, and took the name Ulaanbaatar, 'red hero', in 1924. Mongolia's statistics office estimated 1,539,252 people in the city at the end of 2021.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital, sits near the meeting of the Selbe and Tuul rivers on a plateau below the forested Bogd Khan Mountain. A migratory settlement of the 1600s that moved more than two dozen times, it settled in the 1700s and was renamed from Urga in 1924. The official estimate for the end of 2021 was 1,539,252 people.
Photo: Zazaa Mongolia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar is the capital city of Mongolia. Mongolia is a country in Asia, between Russia and China.
The city's name means 'red hero'.
Ulaanbaatar is the capital of Mongolia. It stands on the banks of the Tuul River, with the Bogd Khan Mountain facing the city, the League of Historical Cities says. Its name means 'red hero'.
Mongolia's statistics office estimated 1,539,252 people in the city at the end of 2021. In 1990 the estimate was 536,594, so the city now has nearly three times as many people.
The Columbia Encyclopedia calls Ulaanbaatar the political, cultural, economic and transportation center of Mongolia, in the east-central part of the country, at the foot of the Bogd Khan Uul, which rises about 914 m (3,000 ft) above the city.
City Population, from Mongolia's statistics office, gives official estimates of 536,594 (end of 1990), 767,498 (2000), 1,158,691 (2010) and 1,539,252 (31 December 2021) for Ulaanbaatar city, which includes city districts such as Baganuur and Bagakhangai.
- Country
- Mongolia (capital since 1924)
- People in the city (estimate, 31 December 2021)
- 1,539,252
- Name means
- 'red hero'
- River
- the Tuul
Glass towers and grand buildings
In Ulaanbaatar stands a shiny blue glass tower. Its glass walls curve.
Near it is a huge open square with big buildings around it.
The Blue Sky Tower is a curved glass skyscraper 105 meters high; Wikidata dates it to 2009 and gives 2011 for its official opening. Around it, the core of the city has grand neoclassical government buildings and long blocks of apartments, most of them built in the 1960s, NASA's Earth Observatory explains.
Just north of the tower is the National University of Mongolia. Founded in 1942, it is the country's oldest university, the Columbia Encyclopedia says.
NASA's Earth Observatory describes the city's core as Soviet-style architecture: grand neoclassical government buildings and grids of rectangular, multi-story apartments mostly built in the 1960s. Wikidata gives the Blue Sky Tower a height of 105.0 m, an inception year of 2009 and an official opening in 2011.
The Columbia Encyclopedia names the National University of Mongolia, founded in 1942, as the country's oldest university; by Wikidata's points it lies about 0.7 km north of the Blue Sky Tower.
- Blue Sky Tower
- 105 m high; dates from 2009, officially opened in 2011
- City center
- neoclassical government buildings and apartment blocks, mostly from the 1960s
- National University of Mongolia
- founded in 1942, the country's oldest university
A town that moved
Long ago, this town did not stay in one place. It moved again and again.
After many moves, it stopped beside a river and grew into a big city.
Ulaanbaatar began in the 1600s as a monastery settlement that moved from place to place. It changed location more than two dozen times before it settled for good in the 1700s, NASA's Earth Observatory says.
It has had several names, including Ikh Khüree and Niislel Khüree. In the 1860s it was a prosperous trading town on the tea route between Russia and China, the Columbia Encyclopedia says. In 1924 it became the capital and was renamed Ulaanbaatar.
NASA's Earth Observatory describes a migratory settlement founded in the 1600s that changed location more than two dozen times and settled permanently in the 1700s; sources disagree on the founding year (the Columbia Encyclopedia gives 1649). The League of Historical Cities lists the names Ikh Khüree (1706–1911) and Niislel Khüree (1911–1923), and the Columbia Encyclopedia gives Urga as the name it replaced in 1924.
The Columbia Encyclopedia notes the town's prosperity on the Russia–China tea route in the 1860s, its choice as capital in 1924 with the new name, and the first industrial combine of 1934. NASA adds that migrants have moved in from the countryside in large numbers since 1992.
- First settlement
- 1600s; it moved more than two dozen times
- Earlier names
- Ikh Khüree (1706–1911), Niislel Khüree (1911–1923)
- Named Ulaanbaatar
- 1924, when it became the capital
Railways, roads and a new airport
Trains pass through Ulaanbaatar on the railway between Russia and China.
The city keeps spreading out into the valleys around it.
Ulaanbaatar lies on the railway that has linked Russia with Beijing since 1955, and it is where Mongolia's main roads and old caravan routes meet, the Columbia Encyclopedia says. Chinggis Khaan International Airport is about 31 kilometers to the south-southwest, by Wikidata's points.
The city keeps growing outward. NASA reports that its built-up area grew from about 119 to about 201 square kilometers between 2001 and 2014, spreading along river valleys and up hillsides north of the center.
The Columbia Encyclopedia calls Ulaanbaatar the junction of the country's major roads and caravan routes, with an international airport and a place on the railway that has linked Russia with Beijing since 1955. Wikidata places Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Töv province, about 31.3 km south-southwest of the Blue Sky Tower.
NASA's 2019 Landsat study reports that between 2001 and 2014 the population grew about 4.1% a year (from 630,000 to 1,070,000) and the built-up area from 11,894 to 20,051 hectares, mostly as low-density neighborhoods in the river valleys and on hillsides north of the center.
- Railway
- on the line linking Russia with Beijing (since 1955)
- Chinggis Khaan International Airport
- about 31 km south-southwest of the Blue Sky Tower
- Built-up area, 2001 to 2014
- from 11,894 to 20,051 hectares
Freezing winters, short summers
Winter in Ulaanbaatar is freezing cold. Summer days are warm.
Summer is the wettest time of year.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for 1981 to 2010 give Ulaanbaatar January days of about −16 °C and nights of about −26 °C. From November to March, even the average daytime high stays below freezing. In July, days average about 25 °C and nights about 13 °C.
The city is dry: a year brings only about 270 millimeters of rain and snow. Most of it falls in June, July and August.
WMO averages for 1981–2010 give highs and lows of −15.5 °C and −26.1 °C in January and 24.6 °C and 12.7 °C in July; average highs are below 0 °C from November to March, and average lows are below 0 °C from October to April.
The monthly averages add up to about 270 mm, of which June, July and August bring about 188 mm; August (71.7 mm) is the wettest month, and January and February (2.6 mm each) the driest.
- January, average daily high and low (WMO, 1981–2010)
- −15.5 °C and −26.1 °C
- July, average daily high and low (WMO, 1981–2010)
- 24.6 °C and 12.7 °C
- Precipitation in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 270 mm
Gers and apartment blocks
Many families in Ulaanbaatar live in gers. A ger is a round tent that herders have used for a long time.
Other people live in apartment buildings in the core of the city.
Many people who move to Ulaanbaatar from the countryside set up gers, the round tents that herders have long used on the Mongolian steppe. By some estimates reported by NASA in 2019, these ger districts hold more than 60 percent of the city's people.
Many gers are heated with wood or coal, which NASA says has greatly increased air pollution. South of the city rises the Bogd Khan Mountain, about 914 meters above it.
NASA's Earth Observatory (2019) describes migrants setting up gers, the circular herder tents of the steppe, in low-density districts on the city's fringes; by some estimates these hold more than 60% of Ulaanbaatar's people. It links the migration to the 1992 free-market reforms, a law granting each citizen 0.7 hectares of urban land, and severe winters (dzuds) that hit rural herds.
It adds that many gers are heated with wood or coal, raising air pollution, that in 2019 many ger homes lacked electricity, paved roads and sewers, and that hills north and south of the city have lost tree cover.
- Ger districts
- more than 60% of the city's people, by some estimates (NASA, 2019)
- Ger
- a circular herder's tent
- Bogd Khan Mountain
- rises about 914 m above the city
Ulaanbaatar on the map
Find Mongolia on the globe, between Russia and China. Ulaanbaatar is near the middle of the country, a little to the east.
The city is high up, on a plateau at the foot of a mountain.
Ulaanbaatar lies along the Tuul River, on a plateau about 1,350 meters above sea level. The Columbia Encyclopedia places it in east-central Mongolia.
Measured from the Blue Sky Tower, the National University is about 0.7 kilometers to the north, the Bogd Khan Mountain about 13 kilometers to the south-southeast, and the airport about 31 kilometers to the south-southwest.
Ulaanbaatar lies at about 47.9° N and 106.9° E, at about 1,350 m (Wikidata), near the confluence of the Selbe and Tuul rivers on a plateau at the foot of a forested mountain (NASA).
Measured from the Blue Sky Tower (Wikidata points), the National University of Mongolia is about 0.71 km north, the Bogd Khan Mountain's point about 13.5 km south-southeast and Chinggis Khaan International Airport about 31.3 km south-southwest.
- Latitude
- about 47.9° north
- Longitude
- about 106.9° east
- Elevation
- about 1,350 m
Amazing facts
-
Long ago, the town that became Ulaanbaatar kept moving to new places!
The settlement that became Ulaanbaatar changed location more than two dozen times before it settled for good in the 1700s.
NASA's Earth Observatory notes that the migratory settlement founded in the 1600s moved more than two dozen times before settling permanently in the 1700s.
-
Ulaanbaatar means 'red hero'.
Before 1924 the city was called Ikh Khüree and then Niislel Khüree. Since 1924 it has been Ulaanbaatar, 'red hero'.
The League of Historical Cities lists the names Ikh Khüree (1706–1911), Niislel Khüree (1911–1923) and Ulaanbaatar from 1924, meaning 'Red Hero'.
-
In January, even the warmest part of the day in Ulaanbaatar is far below freezing.
In January, Ulaanbaatar's average daytime high is about −16 °C, and the average night falls to about −26 °C.
WMO's 1981–2010 averages give Ulaanbaatar a January mean daily high of −15.5 °C and a mean daily low of −26.1 °C.
-
Long ago, traders carried tea through Ulaanbaatar.
In the 1860s the town did well as a trading center on the tea route between Russia and China.
The Columbia Encyclopedia says the town prospered in the 1860s as a commercial center on the tea route between Russia and China.
Words to know
- ger
- a round tent that herders in Mongolia live in
- steppe
- a huge, flat grassland with few trees
- plateau
- a wide area of high, fairly flat land
- migrant
- a person who moves from one place to live in another
- air pollution
- smoke, dust and gases in the air that are harmful to breathe
- capital
- the city where a country's government meets
Discovery challenge
-
Ulaanbaatar is the capital of which country?
Ulaanbaatar has been the capital of which country since 1924?
Ulaanbaatar, renamed from Urga in 1924, is the capital of which country?
- Mongolia
- Japan
- Peru
Show the answer
Mongolia
Mongolia!
Mongolia.
Mongolia.
-
What does the name Ulaanbaatar mean?
What does the name Ulaanbaatar mean in English?
What does the name the city took in 1924 mean?
- Blue sky
- Red hero
- Big river
Show the answer
Red hero
Red hero!
Red hero.
Red hero.
-
What is a ger?
What is a ger, the home of many families in Ulaanbaatar's outer districts?
In the districts that hold more than 60% of Ulaanbaatar's people by some estimates, what is a ger?
- A round tent
- A boat
- A tall tower
Show the answer
A round tent
A round tent!
A round herder's tent.
A circular herder's tent of the Mongolian steppe.
-
What did the town that became Ulaanbaatar do many times long ago?
What did the settlement do more than two dozen times before the 1700s?
Before it settled permanently in the 1700s, what did the settlement founded in the 1600s do more than two dozen times?
- Change its color
- Move to a new place
- Build a bridge
Show the answer
Move to a new place
It moved!
It moved to a new place.
It changed location.
-
When is it coldest in Ulaanbaatar?
In which month are Ulaanbaatar's average highs and lows lowest?
Which month has average highs of −15.5 °C and lows of −26.1 °C (WMO, 1981–2010)?
- July
- January
- May
Show the answer
January
January, in winter!
January.
January.
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Living in a ger in Mongolia
A ger is a round, portable home with lattice walls, roof poles and a crown at the top, covered in layers of wool felt and canvas and tied with ropes. Herding families in Mongolia take it down and move it with their animals, and many families also live in gers around the capital, Ulaanbaatar.
For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Ulaanbaatar on the Tuul River in Mongolia, between Russia and China.
- Explain how migration from the countryside can make a city grow outward.
- Compare the temperatures of a very cold winter and a warm summer in one city.
- Describe how a ger is suited to people who move with their herds.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Ulaanbaatar's first settlement moved more than two dozen times. Why might a town move, and why might it finally stay?
- Many people moving to the city set up gers. What would be good and hard about living in a ger in a big city?
- January nights in Ulaanbaatar average about −26 °C. How would you get ready for a day like that?
Try at home or in class
- Mini ger: make a round tent from a paper cup ring and a cone of felt or paper, and test how well it keeps a small ice cube from melting.
- Temperature chart: plot Ulaanbaatar's monthly highs and lows and mark the months below freezing.
- Growing city: draw a map of a city center and add new neighborhoods along the valleys, like Ulaanbaatar's growth.
Key vocabulary: ger, steppe, plateau, migrant, air pollution, capital
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Mongolia: administrative division (provinces and districts) , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the National Statistics Office of Mongolia
- The Urbanization of Ulaanbaatar (Image of the Day, 4 June 2019) , NASA Earth Observatory
- Ulaanbaatar , The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., via Encyclopedia.com
- Ulaanbaatar (member city) , The League of Historical Cities
- File:UB downtown.jpg (Zazaa Mongolia, 30 September 2015) , Wikimedia Commons
- Ulaanbaatar: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.