10 Tips for Visiting Mongolia

For my 23rd birthday, I was lucky to be able to take a trip to the pristine Khuvsgul Lake in Mongolia. Khuvsgul Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in the world, the next best thing to Lake Baikal in Siberia. Khuvsgul is 700km north of Ulaanbaatar. To visit, one can opt for a two-day drive or a short 1.5-hour flight.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

FOREIGN RELATIONS
In the wake of the international socialist economic system's collapse and the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, Mongolians began to pursue an independent and nonaligned foreign policy. Mongolia is landlocked between Russia and China and seeks cordial relations with both nations. At the same time, Mongolia has sought to advance its regional and global relations. Ties with Japan and South Korea are particularly strong. Japan has historically been the largest bilateral aid donor to Mongolia, although the ongoing $285 million U.S.-Mongolia Millennium Challenge Compact will put the United States in the top spot until it sunsets in 2013. Mongolia has also made efforts to steadily boost ties with European countries. China is now the largest foreign investor in Mongolia.

Political Parties

 Political Parties

Chronology of Mongolian History 1921-Present

Chronology of Mongolian History 1921-Present
March 13, 1921: Provisional People's Government declared independence of Mongolia.
May 31, 1924: U.S.S.R. signed agreement with Peking government, referring to Outer Mongolia as an "integral part of the Republic of China," whose "sovereignty" therein the Soviet Union promised to respect.
May-September 16, 1939: Large scale fighting took place between Japanese and Soviet-Mongolian forces along Khalkhyn Gol on Mongolia-Manchuria border, ending in defeat of the Japanese expeditionary force. Truce negotiated between U.S.S.R. and Japan.

HISTORY

HISTORY
In 1206 AD, a single Mongolian state was formed based on nomadic tribal groupings under the leadership of Chinggis ("Genghis") Khan. He and his immediate successors conquered nearly all of Asia and European Russia and sent armies as far as central Europe and Southeast Asia. Chinggis Khan's grandson Kublai Khan, who conquered China and established the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368 AD), gained fame in Europe through the writings of Marco Polo.

PEOPLE

PEOPLE

Economy

Economy
GDP (2009 est.): 6.1 trillion Mongolian Tugruks/MNT (U.S. $4.2 billion at current exchange rates).
GDP growth (2009): -1.6%.
Per capita GDP (2009): approx. $1,551.