Category Archives: Ulaanbaatar

2026 Budget Proposal: With Failing Infrastructure, Can Mongolia Pivot From Coal to Copper?

Posted on September 21, 2025 by Marissa Smith

By Marissa J. Smith With the end of summer and the opening of the State Khural on September 15, the past few weeks have seen statements about economic policy coalescing into patterns. These culminated this past week in still-new Prime … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Education, Erdenet, Infrastructure, Mining, Policy, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged Marissa Smith | Leave a comment

Origins of Wooden Fences

Posted on August 25, 2025 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Sometimes first-time visitors to Mongolia ask questions that I have also been asking myself, so leave me stumped and wondering. One of these questions is the origin of the khashaa (Хашаа), or fence that demarcates a family’s property … Continue reading →

Posted in Countryside, Curios, Dissertation Ideas, Settlements, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged Julian Dierkes | 7 Comments

New to Ulaanbaatar April 2025

Posted on April 29, 2025 by JDierkes

Posted in Change, Curios, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged Julian Dierkes | 3 Comments

New to Ulaanbaatar June-July 2024

Posted on July 22, 2024 by JDierkes

Posted in Change, Curios, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged Julian Dierkes | 1 Comment

New City Park

Posted on July 4, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I have mentioned the increase of green space several times in my notes about how Ulaanbaatar is changing. One big new development is the opening of the large park that is South of the Shangri-la Hotel and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Change, City Planning, Heritage, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged Julian Dierkes | Leave a comment

Expectations of Coming Election

Posted on April 8, 2024 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes With Marissa Smith and D Enkhtsetseg, I have set the stage for the coming parliamentary election in terms of the changes to the electoral system. I have previously offered some thoughts of what these changes might imply … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Democratic Party, Elections, Foreign Policy, Governance, Ikh Khural 2024, JD Democratization, KhUN, Mining Governance, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Policy, Politics, Public Policy, Social Issues, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged Julian Dierkes | Leave a comment

Chingeltei Khairkhan – The Closest Getaway from the UB Bubble

Posted on February 26, 2024 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan Hiking is becoming a favorite activity especially for those who live in the UB bubble. During weekends and holidays, you would find more people in public parks near the city and see many families driving to their … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, Geography, Health, Mendee Jargalsaikhan, Tourism, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged MENDEE Jargalsaikhan | Leave a comment

New to Ulaanbaatar August 2023

Posted on September 1, 2023 by JDierkes

Posted in Change, Curios, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged Julian Dierkes | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Mongolian Visuals – Capturing the City in Rapid Changes

Posted on April 11, 2023 by JDierkes

By Mend-Amar Baigalmaa In December 2019, when the decision to demolish the Natural History Museum was announced, many residents of the city fought with the slogan #SaveTheMuseum, and professionals led by G. Ochbayar—researcher of the Ulaanbaatar City Museum appealed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Anand Tumurtogoo, Architecture, Change, Curios, Heritage, History, Mend-Amar Baigalmaa, Society and Culture, Ulaanbaatar | Leave a comment

New to Ulaanbaatar, Feb 2022

Posted on May 1, 2022 by bulgan batdorj

By Bulgan Batdorj After four years, I finally got to go to Ulaanbaatar in February 2022. Although I was in regular contact with my family and friends, I was overjoyed to see them in person. The home welcoming of UB … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Bulgan Batdorj, Change, Food, Pop Culture, Reflection, Social Change, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged Batdorj BULGAN | Leave a comment

By-elections 2021

Posted on October 7, 2021 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes In the aftermath of the presidential election in June, one of the big questions that remained was whether the strong minority support that D Enkhbat received as linked to the weakness of S Erdene as a candidate … Continue reading →

Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Ikh Khural 2020, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged Julian Dierkes | Leave a comment

Guest Post: #NONAADAM vs #YESNAADAM – Conflict Between Urban and Rural Values in Mongolia

Posted on September 21, 2021 by JDierkes

By Usukhbold Chimedregzen During the first week of July 2021, Mongolia has seen two opposing protest groups who gathered at Sukhbaatar Square in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. On the surface, it appeared that the protestors had grievances related to celebrating … Continue reading →

Posted in Countryside, Elections, Health, Mongolian People's Party, Naadam, Protest, Public Policy, Social Issues, Social Movements, Ulaanbaatar, Usukhbold Chimedregzen | Leave a comment