Ulaanbaatar, as the capital of Mongolia, has a degree of construction similar to that of domestic third-tier cities. Here, there are all modern cities, such as shopping malls, supermarkets, nightclubs, etc. that can be seen everywhere; such as traffic jams and pollution, such as common urbanization problems.

Cattle and sheep can be seen when the wind blows the grass, and Ulaanbaatar becomes a dog. This is one of the deepest impressions of SC Johnson of Ulaanbaatar. The traffic congestion is really serious, and the roads are too narrow, and basically they are two-lane. The main roads of the city are just four-lane in both directions.

The number of private cars is high. Due to the extremely low tariffs, almost every family has a car, and even more than one. I heard that the price of buying a car here is about half that of the country, and second-hand cars only start at $2,000.

What’s amazing is that second-hand cars are allowed to be imported, resulting in the left rudder car and right rudder car parallel, further increasing traffic pressure. Today, Ulaanbaatar is already a symbol of Mongolia and the most important central city. Half of the country’s population is concentrated here.

The difference between the rich and the poor is obvious. To the south of the Tula River is a rich area, and the community will carry international schools; in the middle and east, it is an area where ordinary citizens and white-collar workers live; in the west, it is an industrial area and a development zone; in the north, it is a shanty town.

With the progress of urbanization, more and more herders come to live in the city, but they cannot afford to buy a house and can only build their own tents and yurts, which are characterized by the shanty town in the north over time.

Looking up, the air pollution in winter is quite serious. In addition to the valley terrain, large population density and many vehicles, an important reason is that as the coldest capital in the world, residents of shantytowns will burn coal and fire to keep warm in winter.

Although the country has implemented free electricity for them since this year, the high-income electric heating system makes them unable to bear it and can only continue to burn coal. Perhaps the only advantage of shanty towns is that they are cooler in summer than in the city.

It started to snow, and the shanty towns in the snow were colorful in white and looked more beautiful. But only those living in the shanty towns knew how unwilling they wanted it to snow.

This huge pot is often seen in supermarkets in the most conspicuous position. It should be a large pot used by Mongolian families to cook mutton, which is bold and domineering. There are many dairy products on the street, such as the horse milk wine that Mongolians love to drink the most. People in the city no longer brew them by themselves, but they buy this kind of street stalls and herdsmen brew them.

Ulaanbaatar's former name was Dakulun, which means the Great Temple. Once this place was just a river valley grassland. Later, a large temple - Gandan Temple, was built on the grassland.

Since it is a big temple, of course everything is big. For example, it is the largest temple in Mongolia and the most incense-prone temple. It contains the largest four-armed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. This statue was once cast iron, but now it is cement-golded.

In that era when it was dependent on the Soviet Union, in order to support the Soviet Union during World War II, this huge statue of Guanyin was destroyed and melted into bullets and used on the battlefield of the Soviet army. So the Soviet Union defeated Germany because the bullets blessed by Buddha were more powerful?

After the end of the Soviet era, the Mongolian people donated money and went to the river to pull stones and mud to recast the Guanyin statue, but the material turned into a cement inner tube and a gold-plated appearance.

Hundreds of years have passed, and until now, the incense of Ganden Temple is still strong. On the afternoon of the visit, Ulaanbaatar had just cooled down and there were a few scattered snow, but the people in Ganden Temple are still bustling, and there are even newlyweds coming to take wedding photos.

The monks in front of the Buddhist temple are focused on quietness, and the believers who kowtow in front of the Buddhist pagoda have full eyes and firm movements, but the most beautiful moment is just sitting idle in a corner of the Buddhist temple, watching the sunset wandering in the clouds; on the road, a few lamas chat and laugh by; two doves are playing around themselves; tourists and believers return, and the incense dissipates, and some people linger and look around.

There is also a big obo behind Zhaishan. The obo is not a yurt, but is somewhat similar to the Mani Dui in Tibetan areas, and is both a symbol of sacrifice and blessing.

There is also an ancient national legend about Aobao: Everything on the grassland has spirits. Stones are no exception. Stones like to climb to high places. The top of the mountain is the highest place on this land. It takes 3,000 years for the stones to climb up with their own strength. In order to help the stones realize this wish, people picked up the stones under their feet and piled them on the top of the mountain, calling it Aobao.

Stones save 3,000 years of vicissitudes and changes, and they feel happy. As a thank you, people circle around the Aobao clockwise and pile up a small stone, which can exchange a wish you want to realize.

From Zhaishan, walking a few steps northward is the dividing line of the wealthy area of ​​Ulaanbaatar - the Tula River.

Bogdahan Mountain, south of the Tula River, is said to be the earliest nature reserve in the world. Due to its steep mountains and beautiful scenery, it has now become a gathering place for the wealthy people in Ulaanbaatar.

I lament that the gap between the rich and the poor here is also huge. The monthly income of the poor in the shanty town is only 1,000 yuan, while the tuition fees for private schools in rich areas are as high as 40,000 US dollars in just one semester.

Genghis Khan Square was originally named Sukhbato Square. Its layout is similar to many countries. It is surrounded by some very important buildings, which are also a bit like a square. The building to the north is the Government Building, which is the office of the National Parliament, the President and the Prime Minister. At the door are large seated statues of Genghis Khan, Ogedei and Kublai Khan.

To the east of the square is the National Classical Art Theater and the Cultural Palace, to the west is the Ulaanbaatar Municipal Government and the Central Post Office. To the south is a main road that runs through the east and west of Ulaanbaatar.

There is an interesting phenomenon. When domestic newlyweds take wedding photos, they usually choose places with beautiful natural scenery. "landmarks" such as Ulaanbaatar, temples, Buddha statues, and large squares are popular choices for wedding photos.

On the grassland more than 50 kilometers east of Ulaanbaatar, there is a statue of the world's largest horse-shaped horse-shaped one. The statue depicts the most famous hero of the Mongolian nation and the founder of the Mongolian Empire - Genghis Khan.

On the war horse, he clenched his fists and hips, looked firm, staring at the southeast. Of course, in his right hand, he held the golden horse whip tightly. Interestingly, this is not the whole story about the golden horse whip. It is said that it fell in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, in an echo, and there was Genghis Khan's last return.

When he walked in front of him, Genghis Khan faced east, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone backlight from the back, casting shadows on the hero. The cold color of steel was already cold air, and the scene in front of him seemed to symbolize that even the Mongol Empire, which spanned Europe and Asia, had been glorious for more than a hundred years, would eventually enter the old papers of history.

The introduction and restoration of shamanism is the most interesting part. Although Mongolia now mainly believes in Tibetan Buddhism, shamanism that worships heaven and earth is the most primitive belief of the Mongolian nation. The symbol of Soyongbu mentioned above is the embodiment of the shamanism spirit. Shamanism is also spread in Mongolian society, especially traditional elderly people, who believe in many.

It is divided into many tribes, such as the Khalkha tribe that accounts for the majority, the Velat tribe in the west, the Buryat tribe in the north, etc. Although different tribes believe in shamans, there are some differences in the construction methods and worship rituals. The shaman tribe part in the thirteenth century park introduces the shamans of various small branches in detail.

Standing on the hillside, looking into the distance. The river water rushed out of the Orhun Canyon and meandered to Sumu. There were a few people fishing quietly on the river bank, and there were also a few cattle and sheep walking around, eating grass freely, and occasionally crows circling overhead.

This scene always reminds of Tagore's poem in "Gitanjali": Like a group of homesick cranes flying to their mountain nests day and night; while I worship you, let my whole life set off to return to its permanent hometown.

This country has no greater sense of pride in the Genghis Khan era, and various places named after Genghis Khan are everywhere. One of the most famous ones is the 2016 Eurasian Summit, located in the Genghis Khan Camp in the valley in the southwest suburb of Ulaanbaatar.

The so-called campsite is actually a hotel on the grassland. Compared with the hotels in the city, the conditions are simple. Each room is just a yurt. Heating depends on manual fires. There are no independent bathing and sanitation facilities, only public toilets and bath rooms.

However, for real grassland herders yurts, water and electricity may be cut off at night, and the sanitation conditions are not satisfactory. Compared with that, the camp is much better. At least the public restaurants, public baths and bathrooms are complete, but the grade difference is only.

Therefore, the largest camp, the best conditions and the closest city hotel among the camps that Johnson has lived in is this Genghis Khan Camp.
Chapter completed!