Khovd ( mn, Ховд, Howd, ), formerly known as Kobdo
or Khobdo, is the capital of the
Khovd Province
Khovd ( mn, Ховд, Howd, ) is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country. Its capital is also named Khovd.
The Khovd province is approximately 1,580 km from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital. It take ...
of
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, ...
. It is officially known as Jargalant sum.
Geography and climate
![Hovd](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Hovd.jpg)
It is situated at the foot of the Mongol
Altay Mountains
The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with the ...
, on the Buyant River. The
Khar-Us Lake
Khar-Us Lake ( mn, Хар-Ус нуур, Har-Us nuur; "Black-Aqua Lake", zh, 哈尔乌斯湖, 黑水湖) is a lake in western Mongolia in the Great Lakes Depression. It is the upper one in a system of the interconnected lakes: Khar-Us, Khar, Dö ...
is located approximately 25 km east of Khovd and is the location of a Strictly Protected Area (Mongolian Government designation), called the Mankhan Nature Preserve.
As a result of administrative reforms in 1992, Khovd was accorded the status of
Jargalant sum. City area is 80 km
2.
Khovd has a cold
desert climate
The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in deser ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''BWk'') with long, dry, frigid winters and short warm summers. Precipitation is minimal and very heavily concentrated in summer.
History
The city was established by
Galdan Boshogtu Khan
Erdeniin Galdan (1644–1697, mn, Галдан Бошигт хаан, , ), known as Galdan Boshugtu Khan (in Mongolian script: ) was a Choros Dzungar- Oirat Khan of the Dzungar Khanate. As fourth son of Erdeni Batur, founder of the Dzungar K ...
of
Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. It is thus also known as Beijiang, which means "Northern Xinjiang". Bounded by the ...
in the 17th century on the bank of the river Khovd in what is now
Erdenebüren sum.
Horticulture
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
was developed around city Khovd using the land cultivating experience from
Taranchi
Taranchi () is a term denoting the Muslim sedentary population living in oases around the Tarim Basin in today's Xinjiang, China, whose native language is Turkic Karluk and whose ancestral heritages include Tocharians, Iranic peoples such as ...
and
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
n captives. The city was 'moved' by the
Qing administration after destruction of the
Dzungar Khanate
The Dzungar Khanate, also written as the Zunghar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyzstan in the south, and from t ...
after 1757 on to the bank of the river Buyant.
On 7 August 1912, the Mongol troops under leadership of Manlai Baatur Damdinsuren,
Khatanbaatar Magsarjav
Khatanbaatar Magsarjav ( mn, Хатанбаатар Магсаржав, ; 1877 – September 3, 1927) was a Mongolian general and a leading figure in Mongolia's struggle for independence. His contingent of 800 elite Mongol soldiers fought ...
and
Ja Lama
Ja Lama ( mn, Жа Лама, also known as Dambiijantsan, mn, Дамбийжанцан or ''Dambiijaa'', mn, Дамбийжаа; 1862–1922) was an adventurer and warlord of unknown birth and background who fought successive campaigns against ...
Dambiijantsan captured the city of Khovd, destroyed all the Manchu-Chinese garrisons and abolished the governance of the Qing-appointed
amban.
Population
The city had a population of 26,023 in 2000 (2000 census), 30,479 in 2003 (2003, est.) and 28,601 in 2007 (2007).
[Khovd Aimag Statistical Office 2007 Annual Report](_blank)
/ref>
In 2005, Jargalant sum (the centre of Khovd Aimag) had 32,351 inhabitants (6,675 households), belonging to more than ten ethnic groups and nationalities such as Uuld, Khalkh
The Khalkha ( Mongolian: mn, Халх, Halh, , zh, 喀爾喀) have been the largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin kh ...
, Zakhchin
The Zakhchin ( mn, Захчин) is a subgroup of the Oirats residing in Khovd Province, Mongolia.
Zakhchin means 'Border people'. They are so called because they originated from the border garrison (mainly from Torghut, Dorbet Oirat, and Dzun ...
, Torguud
The Torghut ( Mongolian: Торгууд, , Torguud), , "Guardsman" are one of the four major subgroups of the Four Oirats. The Torghut nobles traced its descent to the Keraite ruler Tooril; also many Torghuts descended from the Keraites.
Hist ...
, Uriankhai
Uriankhai ( traditional Mongolian: , Mongolian Cyrillic: урианхай; sah, урааҥхай; zh, t=烏梁海, s=乌梁海, p=Wūliánghǎi), Uriankhan (, урианхан) or Uriankhat (, урианхад), is a term of address appli ...
, Myangad
The Myangad people live in Myangad sum of Khovd Province, 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 t ...
, Dörbet, Bayads
The Bayad (Mongol: Баяд/Bayad, ''lit. "the Riches"'') is the fourth largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia and they are a tribe in Four Oirats. Baya'ud were a prominent clan within the Mongol Empire. Baya'ud can be found in b ...
, Kazak, Chantuu and Üzemchin.
See also
* Sangiin Kerem
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khovd (City)
Aimag centers
Districts of Khovd Province
Populated places established in the 17th century