Öndörkhaan ( mn, Өндөрхаан; ; sometimes Undurkhaan), is a town in

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, ...

located 290 km east of

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 ...

. On November 18, 2013, the city was renamed to Chinggis City in honor of

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

, who was born and possibly buried in the same province north of the city. Öndörkhaan serves as the capital of the province Khentii Aimag.

History

On September 13, 1971,

Lin Biao ) , serviceyears = 1925–1971 , branch = People's Liberation Army , rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China , commands ...

died when a

Hawker Siddeley Trident The Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident (originally the de Havilland DH.121 and briefly the Airco DH.121) is a British airliner produced by Hawker Siddeley. In 1957, de Havilland proposed its DH.121 trijet design to a British European Airways (B ...

he was aboard crashed in Öndörkhaan.

Geography and climate

Öndörkhaan shares its location with the

Kherlen Kherlen River (also known as Kern or Kerülen; ; ) is a 1,254 km river in Mongolia and China. Course The river originates in the south slopes of the Khentii mountains, near the Burkhan Khaldun mountain in the Khan Khentii Strictly Protecte ...

sum (municipality) and is the most populous part of the Khentii province. Öndörkhaan experiences a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''BSk'') with long, dry, frigid winters and short, very warm summers. It borders the

Kherlen River Kherlen River (also known as Kern or Kerülen; ; ) is a 1,254 km river in Mongolia and China. Course The river originates in the south slopes of the Khentii mountains, near the Burkhan Khaldun mountain in the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected ...

and is located on a broad flat unprotected plain. In winter, when the river freezes over and the winds howl across the open steppe it can easily reach without the subtraction of wind chill.

Economy

Coal mining is important to the economy of the town and

Chandgana Tal Chandgana Tal ( mn, Чандгана Тал, ''rigid-steel steppe'') is a coal mine in the Mörön sum (district) of Khentii Province in eastern Mongolia. The Chandgana Coal Mine is a coal mine located in eastern Mongolia. The mine has coal res ...

coalfield is located 53 km W from Öndörkhaan. There exists a major

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

(UNDP) Networking and Cluster Development project stationed in Öndörkhaan specializing in the strengthen of urban, peri-urban and rural business associations and networks so as to reduce the very high unemployment rates.

Transportation

The

Öndörkhaan Airport Öndörkhaan ( mn, Өндөрхаан; ; sometimes Undurkhaan), is a town in Mongolia located 290 km east of Ulaanbaatar. On November 18, 2013, the city was renamed to Chinggis City in honor of Genghis Khan, who was born and possibly buried i ...

(UNR/ZMUH) has one unpaved runway and was serviced by regular flights from and to Ulan Bator, before the paved highway was completed. The town serves as a transportation hub, linking

and Choibalsan.

Sister city

Hailar District Hailar District, formerly a county-level city, is an urban district that serves as the seat of the prefecture-level city Hulunbuir in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. Hulunbuir, due to its massive size, is a city in administrative terms only, ...

, China.

References