Erdenedalai, Dundgovi

Erdenedalai (Mongolian Эрдэнэдалай ) is a city and seat of the district in the same county ( Sum) in the Mongolian province ( aimag ) Dund- Gobi.

Location and size

The population of the 7351 km ² large district in 2007 was 6677 people, of whom 2058 lived in Erdenedalai. Thus the city was after the aimag capital Mandalgobi the second largest city in the aimags. Erdenedalai located in a arid, flat landscape, 109 kilometers west of Mandalgobi in the western part of the Gobi aimags Dund-.

Sights and infrastructure

The outstanding attraction of the place is the monastery Gimpil Dardschaalan Khiid, which was built in the late 18th century and one of the very few monasteries and temples in Mongolia 1937, the anti-Buddhist riots and destruction under the then party and government Chorloogiin Choibalsan survived intact. After 1937 the monastery served, in the time up to 500 monks had lived, as a warehouse, but the buildings were still intact. Since 1990 it is used again as a monastery or temple, and in 1992 it was even visited by the Dalai Lama.

In Erdenedalai there are relatively good shopping for Mongolian conditions in the main street. A significant part of the population traditionally lived in yurts, while outweigh stone and wooden houses in the city center. Not far from the buildings of the district administration two gardens were designed with a monument that are maintained in the semi -desert climate with considerable effort. The city has several schools, a kindergarten, a hotel and a gas station.

The provincial capital Mandalgobi and the neighboring Sums are accessible by roads.