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

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

located 290 km east of

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

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

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

, 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 13 September 1971,

Lin Biao Lin Biao ( zh, 林彪; 5 December 1907 – 13 September 1971) was a Chinese politician and Marshal of the People's Republic of China who was pivotal in the Chinese Communist Party, Communist Chinese Communist Revolution, victory during the Chines ...

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 (BEA ...

he was aboard crashed in Öndörkhaan.

Geography and climate

Geography

Öndörkhaan shares its location with the Kherlen sum (municipality) and is the most populous part of the Khentii province.

Climate

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 se ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

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

Kherlen River Kherlen River (also known as Kerülen; ; ) is a 1,254 km river in Mongolia and China. It is also one of the two longest rivers in Mongolia, along with the Orkhon River. Course The river originates in the south slopes of the Khentii mount ...

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.

Administrative divisions

The district is divided into eight

bags A bag, also known regionally as a sack, is a common tool in the form of a floppy container, typically made of cloth, leather, bamboo, paper, or plastic. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being lengths of animal s ...

, which are: * Bayanmunkh * Bulag * Ishgen Tolgoi * Kherlen * Nomgon * Sarig * Tsogt-Undur * Undurkhaan

Economy

Coal mining is important to the economy of the town and Chandgana Tal coalfield is located 53 km W from Öndörkhaan. There exists a major

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

(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 (UNR/ZMUH) has one unpaved runway and was serviced by regular flights from and to Ulaanbaatar, 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ondorhaan Aimag centers Districts of Khentii Province