A rapidly changing capital on the edge of the steppe
Ulaanbaatar is a city of contrasts, where Soviet apartment blocks and new towers are ringed by ger districts of felt tents. Gandan Monastery, with its tall statue of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, is the centre of Mongolian Buddhism, and the Chinggis Khaan National Museum tells the story of the Mongol Empire. The Choijin Lama Temple is a museum of Buddhist art. Beyond the city are the giant steel Chinggis Khaan statue at Tsonjin Boldog and Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, with granite rocks, ger camps and horse riding.