Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar, will mark the 380th anniversary of its founding in 2019. The Ulaanbaatar Citizens’ Representative Assembly has approved  a resolution for marking the event. The working group tasked with planning and implementing the anniversary held its first meeting earlier today (13 April). Key items on the agenda included planning and the all-important budget – which was approved.

The city was founded in 1639 as the main location for a moving Buddhist monastic centre. Today, it is the country’s cultural, industrial and financial heart, the centre of Mongolia’s road network is connected by rail to both the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia and the Chinese railway system with daily links to Moscow and Beijing; through its international airport, Ulaanbaatar is linked to the world. One of its main claims to fame is that it is the world’s coldest capital city, with winter temperatures frequently falling to below -40 deg C.