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Transport and Infrastructure |
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The transport system and general infrastructure in Ulaanbaatar are heavily outdated and in quite bad shape.
Nothing has been changed so far since the Russians left in 1991. The aging minibuses are crawling under the weight of their occupants. They constantly break down in great clouds of smoke in the middle of the potholed roads.
Ulaanbaatar as a whole has developed too fast, going from a quiet little capital to a bustling metropolis in the space of a few years. The number of cars has increased exponentially, the number of inhabitants has doubled and the free market economy has encouraged and promoted entrepreneurs, shops, restaurants and various commercial ventures to set up shop and drain even further the few resources available. The result is a city in chaos, with corruption so far hampering efforts to improve the situation. The capital only improves when foreign countries agree to update its infrastructure. The Japanese built and restored a new road to the south of the city and offered the city new buses, the Chinese restored and repaired the Chinggis Bridge, the Koreans gave new fire engines, and the Americans are planning to repair the aging Soviet power stations. The Mongolians, on the other hand, have increased police presence on the street to fine traffic offenders (who comprise almost every driver in UB), which allows the government to be seen to be doing something, while the policemen earn extra revenue in the form of pocketed fines and the general traffic situation maybe calms down a little bit.
There has been much talk in recent years of a subway system, but this is pure wishful thinking, as the Mongolian government does not have the money nor the ability for this. In fact, the city is far too small to even need a subway.
In the grand scheme of things Ulaanbaatar is better serviced than any other part of the country. Outside of the city, the general civic, transport, medical and educational infrastructure is next to nonexistent. All public transport has to go through Ulaanbaatar, as Aimags (provinces) are not interlinked by public transport and they lack all but the most basic necessities.
It is possible to improve infrastructure in UB at little cost, since it is still at the stage where would be manageable. Tougher traffic systems as well as a more logical street setup would help. Improving the state of the roads is essential; building new roads where there are now dirt tracks, widening the existing roads, replacing the aging fleet of buses, and introducing more underpasses or pedestrian crossings would all be a good start. Canceling the state-run central heating system, which is an enormous waste of energy, and transforming the now defunct public support systems into viable commercial enterprises would be essential in the short term, not only to save energy but also to give the government the possibility of selling carbon credit to other nations. Mongolia needs to rely less on other nations to provide for the UB infrastructure and, most importantly of all, to end the corrupt practices rife in Ulaanbaatar and within the government.
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Picture Gallery of Ulaanbaatar city.
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Founded in 1639, Ulan Bator, then Örgöö (Urga), was originally located at the lake Shireet Tsagaan nuur, around 400 km from the present Ulan Bator in Övörkhangai Province, and was mainly intended to be the seat of the first Jebtsundamba, Zanabazar.
It was moved often to various places along the Selenge, Orkhon and Tuul rivers until reaching its present location in the late 18th century, on the high road from Beijing to Kyakhta, about 700 miles northwest of Beijing and 165 miles south of the trading town of Kyakhta on the Russian frontier. It was the holy city of the Mongols and the residence of the "Living Buddha," metropolitan of the Khalkha tribes, who ranked third in degree of veneration among the dignitaries of the lamaist clergy. This "resplendently divine lama" resided in a palace on the southern side of the town. The town prospered in the 1860s as a commercial center on the tea route between Russia and China (early 20th century trade was valued at over 1,000,000 dollar a year) and was the seat of the Qing Amban (highest imperial official) in Mongolia, who controlled all temporal matters, and was specially charged with the control of the frontier trade town of Kyakhta and its trade with Russia.
In 1904, on the occasion of the British expedition to Tibet, the Dalai Lama withdrew from his Tibetan capital Lhasa and went to Ikh Khüree (as it was named at the time), where he remained until 1908. During his residence there the Dalai Lama would have no communication with the incumbent Bogd Khan who was described as a drunken profligate.
The foundations of the city were built by the Chinese but it is the Russians which really gave it its distinct architecture of low level buildings (usually three to five floors) this was then followed by a horrendous wave of cheap prefabricated buildings.
After Mongolia first proclaimed its independence, upon the collapse of the Manchu Empire in 1911, the city became the capital of the new Mongolian People's Republic in 1924 under its new name Ulaanbaatar.
Ulaanbaatar is now a young and evolving city going through the transtions of emerging markets. Shops are constantly changing for newer and better ones, traffic is getting worst, the cars are getting bigger, pollution has become a problem and the new generations of Ulaanbaatar grow up in an urban environment with no connections to the contriside and their past traditions. A changing city for an emerging country.
map of current Ulaanbaatar
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1 bedroom fully furnished apartment, Downtown
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