Tsetserleg, Zayain Gegeenii Süm Buddhist Temple
Mongolia is a landlocked sovereign state in East Asia covering 1,564,000 square kilometres, making it the 19th largest and one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world, with a population of around 3 million people only. The country contains very little arable land: much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. It is bordered by China to the south and Russia to the north. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the country's population. In 1206, Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, and his grandson Kublai Khan conquered China to establish the Yuan dynasty. In the 16th century, Tibetan Buddhism began to spread in Mongolia. By the early 1900s, almost one-third of the adult male population were Buddhist monks. In 1924, the Mongolian People's Republic was declared as a Soviet satellite state. After the anti-Communist revolutions of 1989, Mongolia conducted its own peaceful democratic revolution in early 1990. This led to a multi-party system, a new constitution of 1992, and transition to a market economy. Tsetserleg (which means garden in Mongolian) is the capital of Arkhangai Aimag (province). It lies on the northeastern slopes of the Khangai Mountains, 600 km southwest of Ulaanbaatar. Tsetserleg is an ancient cultural and commercial centre. Zayain Gegeenii Süm Temple was first built in 1586 and expanded in 1679. It then housed 5 temples and more than 1,000 monks. Just one temple still remains today, and was preserved from the communists by being turned into a museum.
Size: 4219px × 2801px
Location: Tsetserleg, Mongolia, Asia
Photo credit: © François-Olivier Dommergues / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: asia, buddhism, buddhist, culture, desert, eastern, grass, horse, isolated, landlocked, mongolia, mongolian, mountains, nomad, nomadic, nomads, remote, republic, satellite, shaman, shamanism, soviet, state, steppe, tibetan, traditional
