 |
Sainshand town. Capital of Dornogovi Province in Mongolia.
THE REGIONS OF MONGOLIA
DORNOGOV AIMAG
SAINSHANS
Dornogovi aimag is situated in the South-East of the country and borders on the South with the People's Republic of China. This wide area is a semi-desert
zone, with a hard and sandy soil.
Sainshand (Mongolian: Сайншанд) is the capital of Dornogovi Province in Mongolia. It is located in the eastern Gobi desert steppe, on the Trans-Mongolian
Railway. Population 20,000. Elevation 938m. One of Mongolia's most dusty and dry aimag capitals, Sainshand (Good Pond) is important primarily because of
it's location. The city was founded in 1931 and was called Tushet Khan aimag during Manchu rule. It is on the main rail line to China,
and not far from the Chinese border.
- Sainshand City Museum. This recently renovated museum houses some interesting items. There are plenty of stuffed Gobi animals,
a collection of sea shells and marine fossils (Dornogov was once beneath the sea) and some dinosaur fossils. The history section includes
some eulogies to Manzav, the local baatar (hero) who distinguished himself fighting for Mongolian independence during the 1921 revolution.
Look out also for the 13th century wooden breastplate worn by a Mongol soldier in Korea and the Morin Khuiir (horse-head fiddle), from 1940,
decorated with carved images of Lenin and Sukhbaatar.
- Museum of Danzanravjaa. Noyon Khutagt Danzanravjaa (1803-56), a well-known Mongolian writer,
composer, painter and medic, was born about 100km south-west of Sainshand. The museum has a collection of gifts presented to
Danzanravjaa by Chinese and Tibetan leaders, costumes used in his plays, Buddhist statues presented to him by the 10th Dalai Lama, and some
of his paintings. He was also very interested in traditional medicine, so the museum has a collection of herbs. Look out for the jar in front of his statue,
which contains the Danzanravjaa's bones; the poet's mummified body was burned along with his monastery in the 1930s.
- Dashchoilon Khural Khiid (Dashchoilon Khural Monastery). This monastery, opened in 1991, is in a large walled-compound at the northern
end of the central district. There is an active temple, and though visitors are welcome, photographs are not allowed inside. The 25 monks
are very friendly.
Khar Uul. If you have time on your hands, locals recommend the two-to-three-hour hike out to Khar Uul (Black Mountains), south-west of town.
Take lots of water - this is the Gobi, after all.
- Khamaryn Khiid (Khamaryn Monastery). This new monastery, an hour's drive South of Sainshand,
has grown up around the cult of Danzanravjaa, whom many local people believe to have been a living god. His image is sewn into a carpet
that hangs in the main hall. The original monastery and three-story theatre, built by Danzanravjaa in 1821, was destroyed in the 1930s.
The surroundings hold meditation caves and retreats used by Danzanravjaa and his students.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
PAGES OF THE PICTURE ALBUM
|
|
 |
|
Classic tours