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Tövkhön Monastery
Tövkhön Monastery ( mn, Төвхөн хийд, ''Töwhön híd''), one of Mongolia's oldest Buddhist monasteries, is located on the border of Övörkhangai Province and Arkhangai Province in central Mongolia, about southwest of Kharkhorin. Tövkhön Monastery was first established in 1648, by the 14-year-old Zanabazar, the first Jebtsundamba Khutuktu and spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism for the Khalkha in Outer Mongolia. He determined that the location on the Shireet Ulaan Uul mountain, overlooking a hill at 2,600 meters above sea-level, was an auspicious location. The first physical structures were built upon his return from studying in Tibet in 1653. Zanabazar, who was a gifted sculptor, painter, and musician, used the monastery, originally called ''Bayasgalant Aglag Oron'' (Happy Secluded Place), as his personal retreat over the course of 30 years. While there he created many of his most famous works. It was also where he developed the soyombo script. The monastery was d ...
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Orkhon Valley
Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape (; mn, Орхоны хөндийн соёлын дурсгал, Orkhony xöndiiyn soyoliyn dursgal, Mongolian Script: ) sprawls along the banks of the Orkhon River in Central Mongolia, some 320 km west from the capital Ulaanbaatar. It was inscribed by UNESCO in the World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ... as representing the development of nomadic pastoral traditions spanning more than two millennia. ''(See List of World Heritage Sites in Mongolia).'' Importance For many centuries, the Orkhon Valley was viewed as the seat of the imperial power of the steppes. The first evidence comes from a stone stele with Orkhon inscriptions, which was erected in the valley by Bilge Khan, an 8th-century ruler of the Gökt ...
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Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, making it the world's most sparsely populated sovereign nation. Mongolia is the world's largest landlocked country that does not border a closed sea, and much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to roughly half of the country's population. The territory of modern-day Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the First Turkic Khaganate, and others. In 1206, Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous land empire in history. His grandson Kublai Khan conquered China proper and established the Yuan dynasty. After the co ...
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Zanabazar
Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar, , , "High Saint Zanabazar"; 1635–1723 (born Eshidorji) was the sixteenth '' Jebtsundamba Khutuktu'' and the first ''Bogd Gegeen'' or supreme spiritual authority, of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia. The son of a Mongol Tüsheet Khan, Zanabazar was declared spiritual leader of Khalkha Mongols by a convocation of nobles in 1639 when he was just four years old. The 5th Dalai Lama (1617–1682) later recognized him as the reincarnation of the Buddhist scholar Taranatha and bestowed on him the Sanskrit name ''Jñānavajra'' (Sanskrit: ज्ञानवज्र, ''Zanabazar'' in Mongolian) meaning "thunderbolt scepter of wisdom". Over the course of nearly 60 years, Zanabazar advanced the Gelugpa school of Buddhism among the Mongols, supplanting or synthesizing Sakya or " Red Hat" Buddhist traditions that had prevailed in the area, while strongly influencing social and political developments in 17th century Mongolia. His clos ...
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Övörkhangai Province
Övörkhangai ( mn, Өвөрхангай, ''Öwörhangai''; "southern Khangai") is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the south of the country. Its capital is Arvaikheer. The Shankh Monastery, one of the oldest and most important monasteries, is located in this province, as well as Erdene Zuu monastery and Tövkhön Monastery. Karakorum, the ancient capital of the Mongol Empire was located adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery. Övörkhangai Provincee held its first Special Olympics games events in 2015. Transportation The Arvaikheer Airport (AVK/ZMAH) has one unpaved runway and is served by regular flights to Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ... and Altai. Bus travels from Arvaikheer to Ulaanbaatar every day. Administrat ...
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Arkhangai Province
The Arkhangai Province or Arkhangai Aimag ( mn, Архангай аймаг, Arhangai aimag, ; "North Khangai") is one of the 21 aimags of Mongolia. It is located slightly west of the country's center, on the northern slopes of the Khangai Mountains. It is composed of 19 soums. Geography The Arkhangai aimag is located in the interior of the country and borders to the following other aimags: Bulgan (north east), Övörkhangai (south east), Bayankhongor (south), Zavkhan (west), and Khövsgöl (north west). The highest point is Kharlagtai Peak at 3,529 m (11,578 ft), while the lowest point is the area on the confluence of the Orkhon and Tamir rivers at 1,290 m (4,232 ft). The most well-known mountain is the extinct volcano Khorgo, which is part of the Khorgo-Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur National Park. Bodies of water The rivers Chuluut, Khanui, and Tamir have their origins in the valleys of the Khangai Mountains. Together with some smaller tributaries t ...
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Kharkhorin
Kharkhorin ( mn, Хархорин) is a town and sum (district) center in Övörkhangai Province in Mongolia. The sum population was 13,828 (1994), 13,964 (2000), and 14,765 (2017). The population of Kharkhorin town itself was 14,765 in 2017 and covered an area of 20.5 km2. Kharkhorin is located at the lower end of the upper valley of the Orkhon River which is included within UNESCO's World Heritage Site Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape. The location marks the easternmost foothills of the Khangai Mountains, where they meet the rolling steppe of central Mongolia. Nearby are the ruins of the ancient town of Karakorum (also known as Kharkhorum or Qara Qorum) which, for a short time, served as the capital of the Mongol Empire under Ogedei Khan. Another Kharkhorin landmark is Erdene Zuu monastery and its famous phallic rock. The important Paleolithic archaeological site of Moiltyn-am is located near the bridge over the Orkhon River, just west of the settlement. A modern resort is ...
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Jebtsundamba Khutuktu
The Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, , ; zh, c=哲布尊丹巴呼圖克圖, p=Zhébùzūn Dānbā Hūtúkètú; bo, རྗེ་བཙུན་དམ་པ་ཧུ་ཐུག་ཐུ་, Jetsün Dampa Hutuktu; "Venerable Excellent incarnate lama" are the spiritual heads of the Gelug lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia. They also hold the title of ''Bogd Gegeen'', making them the top-ranked lamas in Mongolia. History The first Jebtsundamba, Zanabazar (1635–1723), was identified as the reincarnation of the scholar Taranatha of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism. Zanabazar was the son of the Tüsheet Khan Gombodorj, ruler of central Khalkha Mongolia, and himself became the spiritual head of the Khalkha Mongols. On May 29, the Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu paid homage to the Kangxi Emperor in 1691 at Dolonnor. Like Zanabazar, the 2nd Jebtsundamba Khutughtu was a member of Mongolia's highest nobility and direct descendant of Genghis Khan. After Chingünjav's rebellion and the demis ...
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Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majority regions surrounding the Himalayan areas of India (such as Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and a minority in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), in much of Central Asia, in the southern Siberian regions such as Tuva, and in Mongolia. Tibetan Buddhism evolved as a form of Mahāyāna Buddhism stemming from the latest stages of Indian Buddhism (which also included many Vajrayāna elements). It thus preserves many Indian Buddhist tantric practices of the post-Gupta early medieval period (500 to 1200 CE), along with numerous native Tibetan developments. In the pre-modern era, Tibetan Buddhism spread outside of Tibet primarily due to the influence of the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), founded by Kublai Khan, which had ruled China, ...
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Khalkha
The Khalkha (Mongolian script, Mongolian: mn, Халх, Halh, , zh, 喀爾喀) have been the largest subgroup of Mongols, Mongol people in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos Mongols, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin khans until the 20th century; unlike the Oirats, who were ruled by Dzungar people, Dzungar nobles or the Khorchin Mongols, Khorchins, who were ruled by Qasar's descendants. The two original major Khalkha groups were ruled by the direct male line descendants of Dayan Khan. The Baarin, Khongirad, Jaruud, Bayads, Bayaud and the O'zeed (Ujeed) became Dayan Khan's fifth son Achibolod's subjects, thus formed the Southern Five Halhs. Seven northern Khalkha otogs: 1) Jalairs, Olkhonud; 2) Besut, Iljigin; 3) Gorlos, Keregut; 4) Khuree, Khoroo, Tsookhor; 5) Khukhuid, Khatagin; 6) Tangut people, Tanghut, Sartuul; 7) Uriankhai became Dayan Khan's youngest (could be third) son Geresenje's ( mn, Гэрсэне Жал ...
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Outer Mongolia
Outer Mongolia was the name of a territory in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of Mongolia and the Russian republic of Tuva. The historical region gained ''de facto'' independence from Qing China during the Xinhai Revolution. While the administrative region of Outer Mongolia during the Qing dynasty only consisted of the four Khalkha aimags (Setsen Khan Aimag, Tüsheet Khan Aimag, Sain Noyon Khan Aimag, and Zasagt Khan Aimag), in the late Qing period "Outer Mongolia" was also used to refer to the combined Khalkha and Oirat regions, as well as the directly-ruled Tannu Uriankhai. The region was subsequently claimed by the Republic of China, which had acquired the legal right to inherit all Qing territories through the Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor, as an integral part of the state. Most of Outer Mongolia, however, was under the ''de facto'' control of the Bogd Khanate, which was ...
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Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, Monpa, Tamang people, Tamang, Qiang people, Qiang, Sherpa people, Sherpa and Lhoba peoples and now also considerable numbers of Han Chinese and Hui people, Hui settlers. Since Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China, 1951, the entire plateau has been under the administration of the People's Republic of China, a major portion in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and other portions in the Qinghai and Sichuan provinces. Tibet is the highest region on Earth, with an average elevation of . Located in the Himalayas, the highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain, rising 8,848.86 m (29,032 ft) above sea level. The Tibetan Empire emerged in the 7th century. At its height in the 9th century, the Tibet ...
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Soyombo Script
The Soyombo script ( mn, Соёмбо бичиг, ''Soyombo biçig'') is an abugida developed by the monk and scholar Zanabazar in 1686 to write Mongolian. It can also be used to write Standard Tibetan, Tibetan and Sanskrit. A special character of the script, the Soyombo symbol, became a national symbol of Mongolia and has appeared on the Flag of Mongolia, national flag and Emblem of Mongolia, emblem of Mongolia since 1911, as well as money, stamps, etc. Creation The script was designed in 1686 by Zanabazar, the first spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia, who also designed the Horizontal square script. The Soyombo script was created as the fourth Mongolian script, only 38 years after the invention of the Clear script. The name of the script alludes to this story. It is derived from the Sanskrit word ''Svayambhu'' "self-created". The syllabic system in fact appears to be based on Devanagari, while the base shape of the letters is derived from the Ranjana alphabet. De ...
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