Darkhan

Introducing Darkhan

With its vast acres of parkland, sporadic bursts of concrete and languorous street life, Darkhan is an unassuming blip on the Trans-Mongolian Railway. The Soviets created it in the 1960s as an industrial base for the north and for a while it worked as a model urban cooperative of factory workers, tractor drivers, coal miners and government officials. When the bottom fell out of the economy in 1990 everyone lost their jobs and the Russian advisors beat a hasty retreat to Moscow. The economy has since made small strides, thanks to grain production and some requisite coal mining at nearby Sharyngol. The city is not actually part of Selenge aimag, but an autonomous municipality, Darkhan-Uul.

Darkhan is not somewhere you would rush to see, but you may need to stay here while you arrange transport to Amarbayasgalant Khiid.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009