1 GOLD AND COPPER PRICES SURGE WWW.UBPOST.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/02      2 REGISTRATION FOR THE ULAANBAATAR MARATHON 2025 IS NOW OPEN WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/02      3 WHY DONALD TRUMP SHOULD MEET KIM JONG- UN AGAIN – IN MONGOLIA WWW.LOWYINSTITUTE.ORG  PUBLISHED:2025/04/02      4 BANK OF MONGOLIA PURCHASES 281.8 KILOGRAMS OF PRECIOUS METALS IN MARCH WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/02      5 P. NARANBAYAR: 88,000 MORE CHILDREN WILL NEED SCHOOLS AND KINDERGARTENS BY 2030 WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/02      6 B. JAVKHLAN: MONGOLIA'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES REACH USD 5 BILLION WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/02      7 185 CASES OF MEASLES REGISTERED IN MONGOLIA WWW.AKIPRESS.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/02      8 MONGOLIAN JUDGE ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE APPEALS CHAMBER OF THE ICC WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/01      9 HIGH-PERFORMANCE SUPERCOMPUTING CENTER TO BE ESTABLISHED IN PHASES WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/01      10 LEGAL INCONSISTENCIES DISRUPT COAL TRADING ON EXCHANGE WWW.UBPOST.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/01      УСТСАНД ТООЦОГДОЖ БАЙСАН УЛААНБУРХАН ӨВЧИН ЯАГААД ЭРГЭН ТАРХАХ БОЛОВ? WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/02     САНГИЙН ЯАМ: ДОТООД ҮНЭТ ЦААСНЫ АРИЛЖАА IV/16-НААС МХБ-ЭЭР НЭЭЛТТЭЙ ЯВАГДАНА WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/02     МОНГОЛБАНКНЫ ҮНЭТ МЕТАЛЛ ХУДАЛДАН АВАЛТ ӨМНӨХ САРААС 56 ХУВИАР, ӨМНӨХ ОНЫ МӨН ҮЕЭС 35.1 ХУВИАР БУУРАВ WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/02     Б.ЖАВХЛАН: ГАДААД ВАЛЮТЫН НӨӨЦ ТАВАН ТЭРБУМ ДОЛЛАРТ ХҮРСЭН WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/02     1072 ХУВЬЦААНЫ НОГДОЛ АШИГ 93 500 ТӨГРӨГИЙГ ЭНЭ САРД ОЛГОНО WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/02     Н.УЧРАЛ: Х.БАТТУЛГА ТАНД АСУУДЛАА ШИЙДЭХ 7 ХОНОГИЙН ХУГАЦАА ӨГЧ БАЙНА WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/02     “XANADU MINES” КОМПАНИ "ХАРМАГТАЙ" ТӨСЛИЙН ҮЙЛ АЖИЛЛАГААНЫ УДИРДЛАГЫГ “ZIJIN MINING”-Д ШИЛЖҮҮЛЭЭД БАЙНА WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/02     ТӨМӨР ЗАМЫН БАРИЛГЫН АЖЛЫГ ЭНЭ САРЫН СҮҮЛЭЭР ЭХЛҮҮЛНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/02     “STEPPE GOLD”-ИЙН ХУВЬЦААНЫ ХАНШ 4 ХУВИАР ӨСЛӨӨ WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/02     ҮЙЛДВЭРЛЭЛИЙН ОСОЛ ӨНГӨРСӨН ОНД ХОЁР ДАХИН НЭМЭГДЖЭЭ WWW.GOGO.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/01    

Category

Events

Events

Name organizer Where
MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

NEWS

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Gametoon, FightBox launch in Mongolia www.advanced-television.com

The two Canal+ companies SPI International and THEMA have partnered to bring SPI’s channels Gametoon and FightBox to Mongolia. This marks SPI International’s first launch in the country.
Viewers in Mongolia can now enjoy Gametoon and FightBox on Mongolsat’s DTH and OTT services. With the addition of these two channels, Mongolian viewers will now have access to a range of sports and entertainment content. Viewers can tune in to channel 601 for Gametoon and channel 602 for FightBox.
“Mongolia is a new territory for the SPI channels. We are excited to bring new entertainment channels to this market and help Mongolsat to differentiate its lineup,” said Alexandre Bac, Managing Director at THEMA Asia Pacific.
“We are thrilled to partner with THEMA Asia Pacific and to bring our channels Gametoon and FightBox to the viewers in Mongolia,” said Murat Muratoglu, Head of Distribution at SPI International. “We are always looking for new opportunities to expand our global footprint and this launch represents a key milestone for SPI International in the Asia Pacific region.”
Bumchin Namshir, Director of MongolSat Networks, added: “We are happy to be partnering with THEMA for FightBox and Gametoon. Our herders’ families and young adults will have the opportunity to enjoy these channels and keep up with gamers from all around the world. The addition of FightBox brings a unique aspect to our programming, complementing our traditional wrestling competitions. We look forward to many more years of collaboration and thank you for partnering with us’’.
Gametoon is a channel dedicated to esports and video games, offering a wide variety of gaming-related content, including game reviews, eSports tournaments, and walkthroughs. FightBox is a combat sports channel, showcasing various forms of martial arts and combat sports from around the world.
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Mongolia Shows Promising Economic Growth Boosting Current Administration Ahead of 2024 Elections www.mongoliaweekly.org

Mongolia's economy showed promising signs of growth in the first quarter of 2023, according to recent statistics. Foreign trade turnover increased by a staggering 57% year-on-year to $5.7 billion USD, resulting in a surplus of approximately $1.8 billion.
The surge in exports of mining products played a significant role in this growth, with China, Switzerland, and South Korea being the top three destinations for Mongolian exports. However, the foreign trade turnover also increased by 32 percent year on year to $21 billion in 2022, which means that the growth rate in Q1 2023 was not as staggering as it might seem.
Furthermore, the largest land port on the China-Mongolia border, Erenhot, recorded a remarkable year-on-year increase of 72% in its import and export cargo throughput during the same period. The port's highway throughput also saw a surge of 250%. As a result, the port saw 156,000 exits and entries, averaging over 3,600 daily visits.
The Mongolian coal industry is also thriving, with exports reaching almost 6 million tonnes to China in March alone. Data from the Mongolian Customs General Administration shows that coal exports surged by 446% year-on-year to 13.8 million tonnes during January-March 2023, totaling $2.24 billion in export amounts during the same period.
The World Bank and the Asian Development Outlook both project that Mongolia's GDP will grow by over 5% in 2023, as mining and exports continue to expand, and the post-pandemic recovery in services persists.
Mongolia Economic Growth
Although challenges such as high inflation, debt, fiscal risks, external sector imbalances, and over-reliance on the mining sector remain, the projected growth is an encouraging sign for the Mongolian economy.
This economic growth is not only significant for Mongolia's financial health but also for its political future. The current government and Prime Minister will likely benefit from the country's economic improvements ahead of the 2024 elections. The increase in exports and trade, as well as the growth of the coal industry, may translate to increased voter support for the current administration.
Despite the challenges and potential obstacles, Mongolia's economy's upward trend in the first quarter of 2023 is a promising sign of growth and stability. With continued investment and strategic planning, the country has the potential to achieve sustained economic growth for years to come.
Amar Adiya is Editor-in-Chief of Mongolia Weekly, a newsletter in English for international audience.
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Maximizing nutrition in key food value chains of Mongolia under climate change www.ifpri.org

Mongolia’s projected warming is far above the global average and could exceed 5 °C by the end of the century. The reliance on pastoral livestock and rainfed agriculture along with its fragile ecosystems put Mongolia’s economy at risk of adverse climate change impacts, particularly from climate extreme events. Eighty percent of Mongolia’s agricultural sector is concentrated in animal husbandry with around one third of the population relying on this livelihood. Beyond livestock, food production is concentrated in few crops: wheat; potatoes; and three vegetables (cabbage, carrot, and turnip). Climate change does not only affect food production but can exacerbate malnutrition by removing food and nutrients in all stages of the food value chain. To identify perceived effects of climate change and measures to reduce climate change impacts in Mongolia's’s key food value chains, we implemented focus group discussions with 214 livestock and vegetable producers, traders, and food consumers. We also conducted 30 key informant interviews at the soum, provincial, and national levels across four agroecosystems in three provinces. Based on this community engagement analysis, we identify interventions that the government and private sector, including herders and farmers, should undertake to increase the food security and nutrition of the country’s prioritized food value chains under climate change.

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IT Companies Consortium to Take Part in Online Coal Trading www.montsame.mn

Given the Mining Exchange Law will come into effect on July 1, the parties involved in online coal trading of the Mining Exchange began to be identified. "Erdenes IT Consortium", an association of information and technology companies is evidence. They intend to work together to create an eco-system in the mining industry by developing transport logistics, payment, and IT modules in online coal trading. To this end, a joint forum was organized under the theme "Ensuring the participation of parties in the operation of the Mining Exchange" on May 10.
The information and technology consortium participating in online coal trading includes 11 companies such as "Itzone," "iTools," "Gerege systems," "Cody," "Digital Finex," "Utility solution," "InnoSolution," "Itauco," "DPS" (Digital Payment Solution), and "Anicar" which have a long history of operating in the field of information technology in Mongolia. Executive Director of "Erdenes IT Consortium" B. Buyannemekh clarified, "Currently, in the mining ecosystem of our country a complex platform for product spot, forward and futures trading, option transactions, their payment and tracking of transport logistics has been developed." He said that national IT companies within the Consortium propose to invest and cooperate in activities of the Mining Exchange without taking any funds from the state budget.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Consortium D. Davaa said, "There are many problems in the current exchange trading. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure the participation and cooperation of the public and private sectors, focus on forming the structure of the eco-system by introducing transport logistics, payment, and IT modules in the coal trade, and further develop it. In this way, the national mining eco-system could compete internationally.”
He underlined that information and technology companies, coal suppliers, transporters, and logistics companies are enabled to participate in the digital trade of the coal exchange, which has already started in our country, with their own systems and the system of IT companies’ consortium. In addition to major "players," small enterprises and individuals can participate in online coal trading through professional associations in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.
Representatives of securities companies also participated in the "Mining Ecosystem" forum. The introduction of the Mining Exchange in Mongolia will bring a number of outcomes including :
· Make exchange trading reliable, transparent, and controlled,
· Create accredited laboratories, warehouses, and carriers,
· Facilitate participation of professional investors and investment funds, custodians, brokers, and traders,
· Increase state and local budget and tax revenues.
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Tax Spending and Equal Application of Laws www.montsame.mn

"Taxpayers' Days," which is held on the second week of May every year, was celebrated for the 25th year last week.
Equal participation of citizens and enterprises in tax relations and equal application of legislation were focused on during the "Taxpayers' Days." From this point of view, starting from this year the tax organization has applied a 4-level evaluation to calculate the extent to which taxpayers comply with legislation and conduct responsible activities.
Another feature of this year's "Taxpayers' Days" was the issue of tax spending. Head of the General Department of Taxation B. Zayabal mentioned the implementation of the Austerity Law and clarified that the beneficiaries of taxes, especially government and administrative organizations, are moving to the mechanism of saving tax expenditures and reporting this to the public. He announced that the Ministry of Finance and the tax organizations will jointly deliver information on tax spending to citizens through the e-barimt system.
Tax spending and equal application of laws were discussed during the "Tax Days". The tax authorities use real estate tax as an example of unequal and unfair payment of taxes and unequal enforcement of tax laws. The rate and amount of tax payable in this respect are unequal depending on the date and location of the real estate registration.
The number of taxable real estate has increased by 20,000 in the last two years. Specifically, in 2020, 45.1 thousand real estate were registered for tax, while this number increased to 56.7 thousand in 2021 and 63.8 thousand in 2022 respectively. However, the number of real estate taxpayers was 33.1 thousand in 2020, while this number increased to 39.6 thousand in 2021 and 43.8 thousand last year.
By law, the minimum real estate tax rate is 0.6 percent and the maximum rate is 2 percent. In reality, the tax is charged at a maximum of 1 percent depending on the zoning. Real estate tax is the main source of revenue of local budgets.
Taxable property and the number of taxpayers are increasing year by year, but the tax rate amount has not changed in the last 10 years.
Taxes are levied on income, consumption, and assets owned by citizens, enterprises, and organizations. The State Department Store has paid MNT 84 million in real estate tax for the past 20 years, while Shangri-La Hotel has paid MNT 8.8 billion in real estate tax. Even though they operate in the same zone of the city, depending on the evaluation registered in the registration authority, they pay extremely different taxes, according to the General Department of Taxation.
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Ivanhoe Electric sets up JV with Saudi Arabia’s Ma’aden www.mining.com

Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE America, TSX: IE) is forming a 50/50 joint venture with Saudi Arabian miner Ma’aden to explore for metals considered key for the world’s energy transition in the Middle eastern country.
As part of the deal, Ma’aden will invest $126.5 million in Ivanhoe Electric equity, which grants the Gulf’s largest miner a 9.9% stake in the company, mining magnate Robert Friedland’s latest endeavour.
From that figure, $66 million will go to the JV to fund exploration and Ivanhoe Electric will keep the remaining $60 million to advance its own portfolio of US mineral projects.
“Our joint venture will embark on the largest exploration program ever conducted using our highly powerful and disruptive Typhoon geophysical surveying system,” Friedland, Ivanhoe Electric’s executive chairman, said in the statement.
Friedland was referring to the company’s electrical pulse-powered geophysical surveying transmitter technology, which can detect metals buried as deep as 1.5 kilometres underground. This makes it an ideal tool for surveying many parts of Saudi Arabia, where the bedrock is hidden by a sand and gravel cover that can exceed 1 km in depth, the company said.
The partners will look for battery metals such as copper, nickel and lithium, but will also search for gold, silver and iron ore.
Ivanhoe Electric’s proprietary technology, created by I-Pulse Inc. of Toulouse, France, is already in use at the company’s Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona.
The company said it currently had three Typhoon units, one of which will be deployed to Saudi Arabia. Three more of the surveying equipment will be purchased by the JV, the partners said.
The first of these new generation Typhoon units is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2024.
Friedland made his fortune from the Voisey’s Bay nickel project in Canada in the 1990s. Since then, he has been involved in some of the biggest mineral discoveries in the world, including the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia and the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Forbes estimates Friedland’s holdings are worth $2.7 billion as of May 2023.
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Mongolia shows Canadian foreign policy dominated by mining companies www.springmag.ca

An important facet of Canadian foreign policy is advancing the interests of mining companies. In Mongolia it’s largely all Global Affairs Canada does.
Canadian ambassador Catherine Ivkoff regularly travels to Canadian-run mines, speaks at international mining conferences, does interviews with mining publications and talks up the sector in various other business and political forums. “We will be working to promote Canadian Green Mining solutions and initiatives in Mongolia”, noted a recent headline based on an interview with Ambassador Ivkoff.
In a recent Canadian Journal of Development Studies article headlined “Mining self-interest? Canadian foreign aid and the extractive sector in Mongolia”, Stephen Brown points out that Canada’s aid in the Central Asian nation is largely designed to advance mining interests. An embassy official told Brown that Canadian aid in the country of 3.5 million people is “focused exclusively in the extractive sector” even though the World Bank warned that Mongolia’s economy was excessively reliant on mining. Another Canadian official admitted that “the aid program is designed to help Canadian investment,” largely by influencing the state’s “legal and operating environment.”
‘We’re here because of the mining’
Canadian diplomatic relations with Mongolia were in fact established largely to serve mining interests. As an embassy official also told Brown, “we’re here because of the mining”.
Beginning in 2005 the Financial Post, the business section of the National Post, began to press Ottawa to increase diplomatic relations with Mongolia. “Ottawa should open a full-fledged embassy with a career diplomat in the capital city of Mongolia, Ulan Bator, immediately,” demanded prominent columnist Diane Francis. In her column Francis quoted Ivanhoe Mining’s chairman Robert Friedland. “The U.S. is here with an embassy,” said Friedland. “Why is Canada ignoring a country that wants close relations and the only truly democratic country in Asia that needs our help? Why is Canada kissing Fidel Castro’s ass in Cuba? It’s hypocrisy.”
Julian Dierkes, a professor at the Institute of Asian Research at UBC, added her voice to calls for greater Canadian diplomatic representation in the most sparsely populated country in the world. “Mongolia is one of the few countries where Canada is the 800 pound gorilla,” Dierkes told the Financial Post in April 2007. “It’s the biggest investor, and everyone looks to Canada for leadership… [but] there’s still no embassy or diplomatic representation, which is really terrible. And so the initial enthusiasm for Canadian involvement in mining has been tempered somewhat by the lack of government involvement in any of this.”
In April 2008 Agence France Presse reported, “Canada will establish a new trade mission in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, this year to help Canadian companies active in the region’s mining sector.” Three months later the trade mission was expanded to full embassy status. Canadian diplomatic representation in Mongolia was necessary because, according to the parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance Ted Menzies, “there have been some policy issues including taxation, control and investment regulations that have put Canadian companies in the region in an extremely challenging position.”
Canadian ‘aid’: lobbying for extraction
With some 20 Canadian mining companies active in the country, Canada was the second largest investor in Mongolia. Ottawa’s biggest concern was Vancouver-based Ivanhoe, which owned a copper and gold project in the Gobi desert. The multibillion-dollar project, noted the Financial Post, “was the major campaign issue” in Mongolia’s 2008 election. In April 2006 at least 3,000 people marched against foreign mining in Mongolia’s capital, with protesters burning an effigy of Ivanhoe’s Robert Friedland. The ire directed towards Friedland was partly because of comments he made in 2005. Friedland explained his Mongolian venture to an investor’s conference this way: “So we’re coming in from outer space and landing at Oyu Tolgoi … And the nice thing about this: there’s no people around; the land is flat, there’s no tropical jungle; there’s no NGOs. We’re only 70 kilometers from the Chinese border. It does not snow here. You’ve got lots of room for waste dumps.” The company also took heat for loaning $50 million to the government in exchange for tax concessions.
Canada actively lobbied the Mongolian government on behalf of Ivanhoe. A Globe and Mail Report on Business headline described a 2008 trip to Mongolia by trade minister David Emerson: “Emerson to push for Ivanhoe deal in Mongolia.”
In a bid to deter nationalistic resource policies and woo the country’s decision-makers, Ottawa has doled out tens of millions of dollars in aid to Mongolia. The multiyear “Enhancing Resource Management through Institutional Transformation in Mongolia” and “Strengthening Extractive Sector Management in Mongolia” recently concluded. Ottawa put up $27 million for these two initiatives, which underwrote projects between Canadian firms and local community groups.
As part of building support for the extractive sector, Ottawa has paid for Mongolian journalists to attend the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto and wooed Mongolian officials at PDAC. During the recent PDAC conference in March there was a Mongolia Day with Canadian officials meeting their Mongolian counterparts.
At the 2017 PDAC convention international trade minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced the commencement of the Canada–Mongolia Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA). He said, “this agreement provides substantial protections for Canadian investors in Mongolia, where there are already significant Canadian-owned mining assets.” The FIPA is designed to protect Canadian mining firms by giving companies the right to sue the Mongolian government — in a private, investor-friendly, international tribunal — for pursuing policies that interfere with their profit making.
Canadian government activity in Mongolia, proves all Ottawa really cares about in the Central Asian nation is mining companies profits.
BY: Yves Engler
Yves Engler is the author of 12 books. His "Stand on Guard For Whom? -- A People's History of the Canadian Military" is available August 26
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Europe day event organized for the third time www.eeas.europa.eu

The Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia (“the Delegation”) celebrates the richness and diversity of European culture through Europe Day, an exhibition featuring the European Union, its member States, cultural institutes and European companies. All the projects co-funded by the European Union and its Member States in Mongolia displayed their activities that are benefiting people around Mongolia. The event took place on Sukhbaatar square on Sunday 14 May for one day.
The one-day cultural event was officially opened by the EU Ambassador to Mongolia Ms Axelle Nicaise, the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Amartuvshin and the Governor of Ulaanbaatar Mr Tumurtumuu Dolgorsuren, Deputy Governor of the Capital City.
Throughout the day, more than seventy booths showcased Europe’s unique heritage, vibrant culture, distinctive charms, tourism and educational opportunities and visa information. Visitors were able to taste Europe through many authentic European products on display. Musicians and performers brought the richness of Europe’s heritage to the eyes and ears of the Mongolian audience with live music and cultural exhibitions.
EU Ambassador Nicaise comments on the event: “What better way could there be to celebrate Europe Day in Mongolia? We are very pleased to bring a day of authentic cultures, experiences, and products from Member States of the European Union to Mongolia’s capital city for our Mongolian friends to experience. With this unique festivity we hope to build stronger ties between Europe and Mongolia and celebrate our long and rich histories together. Visitors will also be able to discover what the EU is doing in Mongolia by visiting the various projects funded by the EU.”
About the Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia
The Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia was established in 2017. It conducts official relations between the European Union and Mongolia, seeks to deepen EU-Mongolia cooperation, and exchanges in all fields.
 
 
 
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Mongolia’s Complex Relationship with Wolves: Balancing Tradition and Modern Conservation www.culture.org

In Mongolia, a country where nomadic pastoralism is deeply rooted in the culture, wolves (chono) occupy a variety of ecosystems, ranging from steppes and semi-deserts to mountainous regions.
Throughout history, wolves have been both demonized and romanticized in Mongolian culture. In fact, the nation’s most renowned figure, Chinggis Khan, is said to have descended from a wolf.
The Secret History of the Mongols, commissioned by Chinggis’ grandson Möngke Khan, details Chinggis’ lupine ancestry while also portraying wolves as adversaries.
The 17th-century historical chronicle, the Golden Summary, perpetuates the depiction of wolves as threats.
However, there are instances in poems and manuscripts from the 16th to the 19th century that evoke sympathy for wolves and thieves, as they both stole to survive.
Wolf Hunting and Socialism
Wolf hunting persisted in Mongolia despite these calls for compassion. In the 1950s, the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party implemented collectivization and wolf extermination campaigns.
Professional wolf hunters with pelt quotas were introduced, and hunting was regarded as a legitimate form of Marxist production.
Hunters were celebrated and experienced, writing handbooks and attending conferences to share their knowledge.
These handbooks often began with a history of Mongolian hunting, emphasizing the idea that hunting was a valid form of Marxist production.
Throughout history, wolves have been both demonized and romanticized in Mongolian culture. In fact, the nation’s most renowned figure, Chinggis Khan, is said to have descended from a wolf.
Conservation Efforts and Pro-Wolf Advocacy
Conservation efforts in Mongolia have been inconsistent, with the end of socialism in 1991 leading to the elimination of wolf pelt quotas.
Although provinces still hold wolf hunts and offer socialist-style bounties, there is a growing number of pro-wolf voices advocating for conservation.
Books supporting wolves are sold alongside works by older hunters who worked for the socialist government.
Some advocate for American-style conservation efforts, but these proponents remain a minority compared to the prevailing anti-wolf sentiment.
The Complexity of Mongolia’s Relationship with Wolves
Mongolians have a complex relationship with wolves, simultaneously respecting their cultural significance and killing them to protect their livestock.
While herders grapple with wolf depredation, they express concern and disbelief over the extermination of wolves in other countries.
Mongolia’s relationship with wolves is multifaceted, reflecting both admiration and animosity.
Conservationists like Tumursukh Jal, the director of the Ulaan Taiga Strictly Protected Areas Administration, dedicate their careers to wildlife protection while acknowledging the challenges herders face in protecting their livestock.
Moving Forward: Balancing Tradition and Conservation
This intricate relationship underscores the need for a balanced approach to preserving tradition and promoting modern conservation efforts.
Increased dialogue between herders, conservationists, and policymakers may help bridge the gap between cultural reverence for wolves and the need to protect livestock.
Educational programs could also play a vital role in raising awareness about the importance of wolves in maintaining ecosystem balance, as well as promoting alternative, non-lethal methods of protecting livestock from wolf predation.
Ultimately, Mongolia’s complex relationship with wolves offers a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of tradition, culture, and conservation, and the delicate balance necessary to protect both wildlife and human livelihoods.
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Karakorum: Mongolia’s ancient capital is a cultural delight www.cnn.com

Karakorum is known by many names and even more reputations. Once the home of the world’s most famous Khan, this ancient city quickly became one of the Silk Road’s most important – and progressive – convergence points.
Located in Mongolia’s Övörkhangai province, Karakorum and its surrounding landscapes are among the best places to visit in Mongolia today.
Located just 350 kilometers from Ulaanbaatar, the country’s modern-day capital city, the road to Karakorum is an essential drive on any Mongolia travel itinerary not only for its beauty, but for its history.
It’s this same East meets West route that was once traveled by Turks, Chinese, Uighurs, Sogdians, Hungarians, Greeks, Armenians, Alans and Georgians. By diplomats, traders, artisans and merchants all looking to trade silk, spices, tea, ivory, cotton, wool and precious metals, as well as ideas.
Why 2023 is the year to visit Mongolia
Because of this, Karakorum quickly became a place where cultures would intertwine and learn to live in harmony with one another. Despite many of the connotations about Genghis Khan and his empire many of us hold today, Karakorum was a city built on understanding and acceptance.
It was a place where different religious practices were accepted, with at least 12 different pagan temples, two mosques, a church and at least one Buddhist temple located inside the city’s walls.
The city’s glory was, however, short lived. Kublai Khan eventually moved the empire’s capital to Beijing only 50 years after development first began. With harsh temperatures and a vulnerability to attacks, the city’s inhabitants didn’t stay around for long after that, and Karakorum quickly turned into a pile of rubble.
The Karakorum we see today may be nothing like it was in the days of the Great Khan, but with a recent vow from the president of Mongolia to revitalize this culturally significant city in the coming years, there’s a brighter future on the horizon.
Until then, there are still plenty of reasons to visit.
As a country with a nomadic culture Mongolia doesn’t have many traces of its past still standing. Even today, much of the Mongol’s history as one of the largest and most powerful empires in the world is a mystery still being pieced together.
Besides “The Secret History of the Mongols,” not many written accounts from the Mongolian Empire, as told by Mongols, remain. Archeological sites around Karakorum are still filling in many blanks.
Excavations in and around Karakorum have discovered paved roads, remains of brick and adobe buildings, floor-heating systems, bed stoves, evidence of the processing of copper, gold, silver, iron, glass, jewels, bones and birch bark, as well as coins from China and Central Asia, ceramics and four kilns.
Many of these discoveries, and the stories around them, can be found in the Karakorum Museum, a sleek and modern attraction in the heart of the city.
None of the artifacts and exhibitions, however, are as enthralling as the tale of the Silver Tree – a once ornate fountain that was the centerpiece of the Mongol capital.
According to the legend, the tree was adorned with silver fruit and flowing with various alcoholic drinks, including wine, fermented mare’s milk (airag), rice wine and honey mead, all for the grandsons of Genghis Khan and his invited guests.
The Silver Tree hasn’t been discovered and was most likely dismantled during one of the city’s raids, but the tale of it is enough to fill our own cups just like it once did those of the Mongol royals.
Back in 1585 when Karakorum was abandoned and falling into ruin, the city’s salvation came in the form of a Buddhist monastery commissioned by the then Khalkha-Mongolian prince.
It was the prince’s meeting with the third Dalai Lama, and his declaration of Tibetan Buddhism as the state religion of Mongolia, that would make Erdene Zuu Monastery the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia.
During the Soviet purges of the 1930s, Stalin himself saved a few of the main temples from being destroyed, calling them symbols of religious freedom. The monastery complex was eventually converted into a museum.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the monastery again became active, but nothing like its former days. At its peak, the monastery was home to more than 100 temples, around 300 yurts, and 1,000 monks in residence.
Today, Erdene Zuu Monastery is one of Mongolia’s most sacred Buddhist temples, with Buddhist-practicing Mongols vowing to visit the complex at least once in their lives.
The Laviran Temple at the back of the complex is where monks can be found chanting, practicing musical instruments and providing sacred readings daily.
Erdenesiin Khuree Mongolian Calligraphy Center
Another Karakorum highlight is the Erdenesiin Khuree Mongolian Calligraphy Center – among the best reasons to visit Mongolia, especially this summer.
With a recent expansion and the ability to offer a wider array of workshops and exhibitions that go beyond Mongolian calligraphy, the center focuses on promoting all aspects of Mongolian heritage.
Concerts featuring traditional Mongolian music as well as masterclasses on khoomei, or traditional Mongolian throat singing, will be held throughout the summer.
In September, the center plans to open a ceramic workshop.
Silver Tree Guest House
While Karakorum is often considered a stop along the route to somewhere else, this culturally rich city deserves closer attention. Visitors should plan to spend at least two days exploring this ancient area, booking at least one night at one of these hotels, guesthouses or tourist ger (yurt) camps.
The modern and clean Ikh Khorum Hotel and Restaurant stands out as one of the city’s most elegant choices. The hotel features 27 rooms, a sauna, restaurant, bar and lounge. The hotel is within walking distance to Erdene Zuu Monastery, Karakorum Museum, and the Erdenesiin Khuree Calligraphy Center.
While Silver Tree Guest House is still in its opening phases, staying here feels like you’ve been invited into someone’s home. And that’s also because it is. Silver Tree Guest House is a family-run guest house offering yurt stays, rooms with toilets and showers, and a restaurant that can accommodate both meat eaters and vegetable lovers.
It’s also the first building in Mongolia to utilize a biogas heating system and can speak several languages, including English, French, Russian, Polish, and Mongolian.
For the real yurt experience, Anja Camp makes the list as one of the best in Karakorum, offering ecologically healthy and natural meals from their three-season greenhouse as well as having a focus on environmental projects.
The camp and its founders have started initiatives to grow sea buckthorn to stop soil erosion, using the trees to create creams, liqueurs, organic juice, organic oil, and – a Mongolian favorite – sea buckthorn tea. They also have a sister lodge in Elsen Tasarkhai, the Sweet Gobi Geolodge, an hour outside of Karakorum that’s worth checking into if you’re in the area.
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