Mongolia FAQ Oliver Corff Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions (and their answers) about Mongolia, Mongolians and the areas where Mongolian-speaking people live. ______________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents: 1. Preliminary Notes 1.1. About this FAQ 1.2. How is this text compiled? 1.3. How can I get a copy of this Frequently Asked Questions list? 1.4. I see all these irritating spelling variants. Which one is right? 2. Mongolia - Communication and Information 2.1. Are there any sources of information on Mongolia in the Internet? 2.2. Is there an Internet or e-mail link to Mongolia? 2.3. Is there an IDD (International Direct Dialing) telephone link to Mongolia? 2.4. Are there mobile (cellular) phone services available in Mongolia? 2.5. Are there Mongolian radio broadcasts? 3. Mongolia - Land and People, History, Mongolia Flag, Life, Language 3.1. Where do Mongolians live? 3.2. What Happened When? A Chronological View at Mongolian History 3.3. Who is Who among the Khans? 3.4. How does the Mongolian National Flag look like, and what does it mean? 3.5. How do Mongolians live? 3.6. Who speaks Mongolian? 3.7. What kind of a language is Mongolian? 3.7.1. Mongolian - Language 3.7.2. Mongolian - Grammar 3.7.3. Mongolian - Writing 3.7.3.1. Mongolian Writing: Uighur 3.7.3.2. Mongolian Writing: Chinese 3.7.3.3. Mongolian Writing: Phagsba 3.7.3.4. Mongolian Writing: Soyombo 3.7.3.5. Mongolian Writing: Cyrillic 3.8. Is Mongolian easy to learn? 3.9. Are the Mongolian dialects an obstacle for the foreigner learning Mongolian? 4. Mongolia - Administrative 4.1. I want to study in Mongolia. Where do I establish contact? 4.2. I want to work in Mongolia, e.g. teach a foreign language. Where do I establish first contact? 4.3. I want to study in Inner Mongolia. Where do I establish contact? 4.4. I want to work in Inner Mongolia, e.g. teach a foreign language. Where do I establish first contact? 4.5. I want to travel to Mongolia. What kind of travel documentation do I need? 4.6. I want to travel to Inner Mongolia. What kind of travel documentation do I need? 4.7. I want to travel to Buryatia. What kind of travel documentation do I need? 4.8. I want to travel to Kalmykia. What kind of travel documentation do I need? 4.9. Where is the nearest embassy / consulate of Mongolia? 5. Mongolia - Tourism 5.1. How to travel to Mongolia? 5.2. What kind of accommodation is available in Mongolia? 5.3. What kind of transport is available in Mongolia? 5.4. Which season is recommended for travelling? 5.5. What are the points of sightseeing, museums etc.? 6. Inner Mongolia - Tourism 6.1. How to travel to Inner Mongolia? 6.2. What kind of accommodation is available in Inner Mongolia? 6.3. What kind of transport is available in Inner Mongolia? 6.4. Which season is recommended for travelling? 6.5. What are the points of sightseeing, museums etc.? 7. Mongolia - Computing Issues 7.1. Is there some kind of "Mongolian ASCII" or commonly acknowledged encoding standard for Mongolian language data processing? 7.2. Are there computer programs for processing Mongolian language documents? 8. Mongolia - Suggested Readings 8.1. Which book do you recommend as a start? ______________________________________________________________________ 1. Preliminary Notes 1.1. About this FAQ Archive-name: mongol-faq Version: 5.10 Copyright: Oliver Corff, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 Anyone wishing to contribute to or improve this document should not hesitate to send the edited part(s) to me, i.e. Oliver Corff, corff@zedat.fu-berlin.de or infomong@zedat.fu-berlin.de Translations into other languages are welcome and appreciated. The author kindly requests to receive a proof copy prior to publishing the translated version in order to make sure that the translated version is based on the most recent original. Thanks to Christopher Kaplonski, Peter Crandall, Mingan Choct, Ariunaa, Peter Lofting, Ken Beesley, Wolfgang Lipp, Noreen Palazzo, Solongowa Borzigin, Purevdorj, Darima Socktoyeva, Prof. Dr. Yondon, Mykel Board, Dominik Troger, David Methuen, Peter G. Campbell, Katherine Petrie, Laurent Amsaleg, E. Bulag, Graham Shields, Zhao Yongguo, Aldar and all others who have contributed by submitting facts, corrections or suggestions on what to include. Technical Note: This text is now maintained on the basis of an sgml master in Latin1 encoding. The master document is converted into plain text form (for feeding into the newsgroups) and HTML form (for presentation in the WWW). If you want to redistribute this FAQ (which you are free and welcome to do as long as the document is not modified and the copyright and author lines remain intact) please contact the FAQ source if you require the FAQ in sgml format. Without contacting the author, you are only entitled to store, mirror and reproduce the text version as found in the newsgroups or the HTML version found at the official Mongolia FAQ URL. 1.2. How is this text compiled? Back in 1994, the maintainer of this FAQ thought it would be nice to have a FAQ on Mongolia. He collected some of the original questions (mainly questions like: how to obtain visa, where to find software, etc.), circulated the idea in the then newly founded Mongolia-related newsgroup soc.culture.mongolian and within a few days a number of contributors and ideas came together to form the first Mongolia FAQ. Since then, this text saw a considerable increase in detail and range of questions. People still tend to ask the same questions, even this one: How was this text compiled? Well, the answer is right here. As far as possible, the FAQ maintainer tries to use first-hand experience and information to answer questions. Over the years, the maintainer visited Mongolia and Southern (Inner) Mongolia in various functions. The maintainer hopes to be able to share his, not always objective view, with the readers. Sometimes, if not frequently, the information is provided by readers of the before-mentioned newsgroup or readers of this FAQ. The list of contributors speaks! You are always welcome to share your ideas, suggestions, criticism and updated information with the maintainer since this offers the best chance for improving this text. Join the ranks! Information is updated in two ways: if major changes become necessary, the document is changed immediately and redistributed as soon as possible, usually within a few days. Other questions of not such an urgent nature take more time to make it into this document, and then the document receives its updates at greater intervalls, but also at the benefit of greater chunks. 1.3. How can I get a copy of this Frequently Asked Questions list? You are holding a copy of this document in your working memory! Save it now. A copy of this document is always kept in Infosystem Mongolei (see below) but here again is its URL: http://userpage.fu- berlin.de/~corff/mf.html 1.4. I see all these irritating spelling variants. Which one is right? Given the name of the Capital of Mongolia, one can find it written in several forms: Ulan Bator, Ulaan Baatar, Ulaanbaatar and even Ulaganbagatur. Which one, then, is the really correct form? As with every non-Latin script, there is a problem of rendering this script into Latin which involves a choice between two methods: transliteration and transcription. The first method tries to reproduce the original writing while the second method tries to indicate its pronounciation. The process is further complicated if another language and/or script is between the original and the target. Hence, Ulaanbaatar is the transliteration of the name in Mongolian (using the Cyrillic alphabet), Ulan Bator is a spelling derived from the Russian transcription of the name (though Russians and Mongolians use the same writing system, the Russians preferred to make a transcription of the Mongolian name rather than accepting it unmodified into Russian), Ulaan Baatar is the transliterated spelling of the Mongolian words "Red Hero" (the literal meaning of the name), and Ulaganbagatur finally is an approach to transliterate the name from the Classical Mongolian writing. The whole methodological problem is explained in detail in the section on Mongolian and computers towards the very end of this FAQ. Due to the difficulties of rendering names etc. for postal, news and other services some more or less "official" ways of spelling exist, in addition to several transliterations and common spellings which are not correct in the strict sense but enjoy a broad acceptance. 2. Mongolia - Communication and Information 2.1. Are there any sources of information on Mongolia in the Internet? Yes and No. First the No. Until about 1994, There used to be only a number of miscellaneous documents (mainly U.S. government publications) on Mongolia available on the Internet. These documents (not much more than a handful of files) were partially outdated, difficult to find and frequently available on various mirrored sites increasing the confusion. Now the first Yes. In spring 1994, the USENET newsgroup soc.culture.mongolian came into existence. It enjoys a certain popularity, not only among Mongolia specialists but also among other interested persons. This newsgroup (which is not moderated) offers lively discussions on all sorts of topics ranging from food to religion, from history to modern politics. Many frequent contributors supply soc.culture.mongolian also with news about current events, exhibitions etc. In order to read the news of soc.culture.mongolian, start any of the news readers available on your machine (this may be tin, rn, nn, or any other favourite). Following the instructions, it should not be too difficult to subscribe to soc.culture.mongolian since this is a mainstream USENET newsgroup which should be available at any Internet site featuring USENET services. Now the second Yes. The Mongolia Society in Bloomington, Indiana established a WWW home page in Summer 1995. The WWW homepage gives information about the Mongolia Society and its activities. The Mongolia Society URL is: http://www.bluemarble.net/~mitch/monsoc.html. The author of this site, Mitch Rice, is very active in collecting, bundling and updating Mongolia-related Internet documents, references to other WWW home pages on Mongolia and Tuva, gopher servers and single documents on Mongolia in the Mongolia WWW Virtual Library, the URL being: http://www.bluemarble.net/~mitch/monglinks.html In addition, his Mongolia Homepage, the URL being: http://www.bluemarble.net/~mitch/mongolia.html deserves attention, too. Now the third Yes. The Mongolian Internet provider Magicnet, the URL being: http://www.magic.mn provides news about Mongolia and even as a daily download of "Today" articles. "Today", or Önöödör in Mongolian, is the most important newspaper in Mongolia. For reading the articles, a special font is provided which can be loaded into Microsoft Windows environments. Now the fourth Yes. Recently, many more Web sites on Mongolia have emerged, some of them with a focus on travel, others with a focus on Southern (Inner) Mongolia, again others focussing on Chinggis Khan and his spiritual heritage. Instead of including all references here I wish to redirect all requests to the Mongolia WWW Virtual Library. Now the fifth Yes. In November 1993, the first gopher server offering dedicated information on Mongolia started working (this now history, though.). It was located at Free University, Berlin, Germany, and could be reached via: gopher gopher.fu-berlin.de . This gopher server used to offer the Infosystem Mongolei featuring a small but growing collection of articles, maps, legal documents and software related to Mongolia. From early 1995 on, this gopher server was supposed to migrate to a WWW site, but, alas! due to a handful of reasons this aim could not be achieved before spring 1996. In its present phase, the Infosystem Mongolei - WWW site is to a certain extent still a mirror of the former gopher site but soon the former gopher site will only be recognizable as its root, not as its substance any more. New technologies are constantly advancing and create new opportunities for publishing documents which seemed to be "unpublishable" due to technical constraints. The new WWW site supports Chinese characters in its documents eliminating effectively the need for dedicated software on the users' side. The Infosystem Mongolei - WWW URL is: http://userpage.fu- berlin.de/~corff/ More information on other Asia-related sources which may be important for Mongolia studies can be found at the ANU - Register of Asian Studies E-Journals maintained by Dr. Ciolek. 2.2. Is there an Internet or e-mail link to Mongolia? Yes, there is now the first e-mail link to Mongolia. It came into existence in January/February 1995 and is not yet a continuous (i.e. 24 h/day) operation but it seems to work. It is organized by a commercial service provider, Datacom Co., Ltd. Mongolia. The address is: bataa@magicnet.mn and requests to this address will most certainly be answered by Bataa, the system operator. There are various types of service charges. First, one has to open an account which is between USD 20.-- and USD 100.-- depending on whether one is a private or an institutional user. Then there is a monthly charge (starting with USD 5.-- / month), and in addition there is a volume charge for every kB of data which is 30 cents. Despite these various charges, the operation via e-mail is by far the cheapest because fax and DX telephone costs are tremendous. In addition, the Academy of Sciences which used to have its own connection (UUCP) to the Internet via Dubna, Russia, has switched to magicnet, too, in summer 1996. The address is: informc@magicnet.mn for the Computer Centre of the Academy. The other institutes which used to have an address at Dubna are migrating too, and their new addresses will be provided as soon as possible. There is no public e-mail link to Inner Mongolia at present but the scientists at the Computer Centre of the Inner Mongolia University are working to supply the whole university with a backbone which will also have internet access, scheduled to be active by summer 1996 (personal communication to O. Corff in February 1996). By information of February 4, 1996, Buryatia can be reached via e- mail. For first contact, you may communicate to root@inov.buriatia.su (Communicated by Darima Socktoyeva, February 1996) 2.3. Is there an IDD (International Direct Dialing) telephone link to Mongolia? Yes, there is the possibility to place IDD (International Direct Dialing) telephone calls to Mongolia. The country code is ++976. Only a few area codes are known (hopefully this list will grow!): · Ulaanbaatar 01 · Darxan 037 At present the telephone system in Ulaanbaatar is under reconstruction which implies that certain numbers are changed. Ulaanbaatar used to have 5-digit telephone numbers until 1992. Those numbers which then began with a 2 are usually converted by placing a 3 in front of the leading digit. Other numbers were changed later. Some numbers still retain the 5-digit order, but even those began to change during early 1997. Numbers formerly beginning with a 5 now start with a 4 in front of the leading digit. Inner Mongolia can be reached via China. The country code is 86, the area code for Huhhot is (0)471 (skip the leading 0 when dialing from abroad). In 1995, there was a change in the telephone system of Huhhot, and a "9" must now be included after the first digit. So, a number like 454433 becomes now 4954433. Buryatia can be reached via Russia. The country code is ++7 but there are two city codes for Ulan Ude: 3012 for 6-digit telephone numbers, 30122 for 5-digit telephone numbers. Kalmykia is also reached via Russia, its area code is 847 and a district Code may appear between it and your local numbers. 2.4. Are there mobile (cellular) phone services available in Mongolia? Yes, a service provider named "MobiCom" provides cellular phone services (GSM standard) within Ulaanbaatar and a 35-km range around the Capital. You can take your Siemens, National Panasonic or other mobile phone to Ulaanbaatar and get a service contract (with chip card) there. The initial fee is hefty (around USD 200.-- or USD 300.--) and the airtime price per minute is around USD .50. Monthly fee is USD 50.--. Contact MobiCom Corporation, tel. 312222, or send a fax before going there (+976-1-3140411). 2.5. Are there Mongolian radio broadcasts? The question has two possible basic meanings. First of all, we can ask whether there are radio broadcasts in Mongolia. Then we can ask whether there are Mongolian language radio broadcasts. Both questions can be answered positively. Mongolia has a domestic radio service, both wireless and wire, as well as television. Besides the domestic radio service, there is also an international shortwave service. The radio in Ulaanbaatar is mainly based on a wire-distributed system with loudspeakers in virtually every urban househould. In some areas there is only one channel available while other areas feature two channels which are propagated with long waves and detected with very simple sets: two channel buttons (with the more sophisticated sets; the simple ones do without), volume control, that's it. If one does not want to listen, one pulls the plug; otherwise it's Plug and Play. These radio sets, called `boxes' (xaïrcag in Mongolian) were available in the department store but where ever you go you would inevitably run into the soft background of these ever-present voices, especially at offices, workplaces etc. The movie "Argamshaa" has a scene where an empty apartment is shown with just the radio being switched on. Recently, at least one independent FM radio station took up operation. Mongolian television is a complex story: the state-run television can mainly be received in Ulaanbaatar, but in recent years many satellite channels mushroomed. It is now possible to watch MTV. Besides these new stations, Mongolian television has also diversified: There is now Ulaanbaatar City Television which even broadcasts on Monday when the state-run television station habitually has its day off. More details on television schedules and broadcast history can be found in an article by John W. Williams, Mass Media in Post-Revolution Mongolia (in Infosystem Mongolei). International broadcasts on short wave by Radio Ulaanbaatar can be heard daily in English and Mongolian. The frequencies given here are of winter 1994/1995's schedule but apparently there are not many changes so these can be tried: Time (UTC) Frequencies Direction 0300-0330: 9960, 12000kHz Asia 0910-0940: 9960, 12000kHz Asia 1445-1515: 7530, 9950kHz Asia 1930-2000: 4080, 7530kHz Europe and Asia A more detailed list which is probably not up-to-date gives informa tion on the languages used by Radio Ulaanbaatar: RADIO ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia Schedule originally effective from September 24, 1995 to March 26, 1996; should still be more or less the same since it never really changed before that date Language Target Area Weekday Time UTC Frequencies, kHz
Mongolian East Asia Daily 1020-1050 12085,9960,990 Siberia Daily 1250-1320 9950,7350,990 English Australia Daily 0910-0940 12000,9960 South Asia Daily 1445-1515 9950,7530 Europe Daily 1930-2000 7530,4080 North America Daily 0300-0330 12000,9960 Russian Far East 12.45.7 0945-1015 12085,9960 Siberia .23.567 1410-1440 9950,7530 Europe 1.32.67 1700-1730 7530,4080 Japanese East Asia Daily 1120-1150 12085,9960 ......7 1200-1230 12085 Chinese East Asia Daily 1050-1120 12085,9960,990 Asia Daily 1330-9950,7530,990 Address: Radio Ulaanbaatar, CPO Box 365, Ulaanbaatar 13, Mongolia The reception is usually fairly weak (as reported repeatedly and backed up by author's own experience). 3. Mongolia - Land and People, History, Mongolia Flag, Life, Language 3.1. Where do Mongolians live? Mongolia is not only the name of the present-day country of Mongolia but also the name of the Mongolian nationality which have settled in many places throughout Central Asia and China. Historically, the Mongolian empire used to be much bigger than modern Mongolia, at times comprising the Golden Horde (in modern Russia), the Il Khanate (modern Persia) and China down to modern Vietnam. Today, Mongolians live in: · Mongolia proper, the huge, land-locked country between China and the Siberian part of the Russian Federation (see also the Mongolia Fact File, URL http://userpage.fu- berlin.de/~corff/im/Landeskunde/ciamong) · Southern Mongolia, or Inner Mongol Autonomous Region which politically belongs to China; · There are about 600,000-700,000 Mongols living in western Liaoning province. Most of them are Kharchin Mongols and the land they are living formerly called Zosot Aimag. Now there are still two Mongol Autonomous Counties in Liaoning; · There are about 150,000 Mongols living in western Jilin province. Most of them are Khorchin Mongols. They form one Mongol autonomous county there; · There are about 160,000 Mongols living in southwest Heilongjiang province. Most of them are Khorchin Mongols. There is one Mongol autonomous county in Heilongjiang. However, there are also four or five thousands of Kalmyks (Oirat) living in Yimin County (formerly the Ikh Mingan Banner). They were moved to the present area in early 18th century by the Qing government; · Buryatia, direct north of Mongolia proper, south and south-east of Lake Baikal. Buryatia is an Autonomous Republic, the capital is Ulaan-Üüd (Ulan-Ude) (see also Buryatia Fact File in Infosystem Mongolei); · An important number of Mongols who are known as Kalmyks live in Russia in Kalmykia, the capital being Elista. Kalmyks are also known as Oirats; · In Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, there are also Kalmyks holding strong ties with their brethren in Kalmykia. Yet even among the Oirats, groups are differentiated which has a strong political repercussion even today. There are also some Qaxar Mongols in Xinjiang, and they may not consider themselves belonging to the mainstream Oirat, but be more interested in Inner Mongolia; · In Qinghai (modern Chinese name of what used to be known as Huhnuur or Koko-Nuur in old maps - which means Blue Lake in Mongolian and Chinese, being the Amdo region of Tibet) there are several communities of Mongolians and their descendants. They can be divided into two groups: 1. Mongols to the west of Xöxnuur (Prince Lubsandanjin's group), i.e. Haixi Tibetan and Mongolian autonomous prefecture. They speak good Mongolian (Hoshot dialect). 2. The Mongols in Henan prefecture, i.e. those who earlier belonged to Prince Chagaandanjin, now speak Tibetan, but are still regarded and officially recognized as Mongolians; the Monguor (called Tuzu nationality in Chinese), having a population of about 260,000 and mainly living in the Huzhu Tu Nationality Autonomous County. They speak a Mongol dialect quite distinct to the other Mongol group with many Tibetan and Chinese loans. Most of them believe Tibetan Buddhism; · In north Gansu there is a Mongol community which is largely of a mixed Khalkha-Hoshot origin. Some of them were descendants of Khalkha refugees who fled Mongolia in the late twenties and early thirties of the 20th century; These groups deserve mentioning because they do not think they are living in `Chinese' provinces, but living in their original homeland. Jungaria is particularly important, it is also the homeland of the Kalmyks and Mongols now residing in Germany and USA; · There are about 60,000 Mongols in Henan province, mainly concentrated around Nanyang Prefecture. They are descendants of the Mongol army during the Yuan dynasty. They do not speak Mongolian any more, but politically they are considered Mongols; · A significant number of Mongolians live dispersed in other Chinese provinces. Some of them form their own nationalities, e.g. the Dagurs, the Dongxiang (Sarts), the Bao'an etc. with languages being quite distant from modern Mongolian (cf. below); · Small communities of an ancient Mongol tribe named Moghols live in Afghanistan. Their language spoken today has only little in common with Xalx or Qaxar Mongolian; · There is also a worldwide somewhat scattered community of Mongol scholars, students and professionals living in many countries from America to New Zealand. About 500 or more Mongols live in Germany. Many of them came to Germany during the existence of the German Democratic Republic which is now united with the Federal Republic of Germany. · A significant number of Kalmyks became expatriated during World War II. Having the status of Displaced Persons (DP) they were relocated to Munich, Germany immediately after the war from where many of them went on to the United States of America where they settled in New Jersey and formed the nucleus of the present Kalmyk community in the US. 3.2. What Happened When? A Chronological View at Mongolian History An overview of Mongolian history is given here in tabular manner. There are still many gaps in this list which are to be filled later. This is a starter, and should actually be accompanied by the notorious Site under Construction warning. Since this is an overview only, neither all geographical nor all personal names can be explained and commented in detail here. The reader interested in in-depth information is kindly requested to consult history books on Mongolian history; an introductory bibliography (see also the last item of this FAQ) can be found at SROM - Suggested Readings on Mongolia. Speaking in geopolitical terms, the epicentres of Mongolian history are the conquest of Central Asia in the 13th century, the Golden Horde (m. altan orda) in today's Russia lasting to the beginning of the 16th century, the comparatively shortlived Il Khanate (from 1220 to ca. 1350) and the Yuan Khanate (dynasty, ulus) in China (from 1279 to 1368), and, by the point of view of the Golden Horde, East Mongolia which is more or less identical with modern Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. This very brief sketch does not contain the history of Mongolians in India, nor many other contacts between Mongolia and the West. Huge volumes have been written about every single of these subjects, and the researcher who wants to fully understand by own reading of historical sources the panorama of Mongolian history has to master, besides Mongolian, a range of about a dozen totally different languages, from Latin to Chinese as geographical poles, with Arabian, Persian, Turkish, Armenian etc. etc. in between. Few scholars have ever achieved this first source knowledge, which is one of the reasons why we have no all-encompassing history of the Mongols out of the hands of one author alone. At this point the onset of this historical overview coincides with Khabul Khan's activities. Neither the early Hunnu (Xiongnu) nor the East Turkic empires are included here. 1130-50 Khabul Khan unites the Mongxol and forms a tribal group. around 1167 Birth of Temujin, grandson Khabul Khan's, who will later receive the name Chinggis. around 1195 Temujin reigns the Mongxol and is entitled Khan besides receiving the name Chinggis. The etymology of this name could not yet be clarified in a satisfactory manner. 1206 At the Onon river, clean leaders hold an assembly (m. xuriltai) at which Chinggis Khan is confirmed as the leader of the Mongol Federation. 1209 Mongols invade Xixia, also known as Tangut. 1215 Beijing falls to Mongols. 1218-1220 Mongol campaign towards the West; Karakitai falls in 1218; Buchara and Samarkand fall in 1220. The latter date is considered by some as the initial year of the Il Khanate. 1223 Mongols beat a united army of Qipchak Turks (Cumans) and Russians at the Kalka river (enters the Sea of Azov near Zhdanov via the Kal'mius river); modern name Kal'qik, it is a tributary to the Kal'mius river, but some sources give the name Kalec and point to the modern city of Taganrog as its mouth); this date is considered by some as the beginning of the Golden Horde. 1227 Death of Chinggis Khan. Fall of the Tangut. 1229 Election of Ögödäi as Great Khan. 1240 The Secret History of the Mongols probably written in this year, if not 12 years later. Marking the onset of Mongolian literature, the Secret History of the Mongols of which no truly original text is preserved (only a transcription of the Mongolian language with Chinese characters survived) is at the same time Mongolia's first history, her first genealogy and her first epos. Besides that, it is as well a piece of poetry as a piece of lore; until today it is a keystone of Mongolian literature. 1241 Battle of Liegnitz marking the westernmost expansion of the Mongol empire. Death of Ögödäi. 1245-1247 John of Plano Carpini travels to Mongolia. 1253 Begin of the campaigns against Korea. 1253-1255 William Rubruk travels to the Mongols and is sent to Karakorum. Carpini's and Rubruk's travelogues belong to the earliest western sources on medieval Mongolia. 1255 Death of Batu, first Khan of the Golden Horde. 1258 Bagdad conquered by Hülägü. 1259 Death of Möngkä. 1265 Death of Hülägü, the first Il Khan. 1267 Death of Bärkä, Khan of the Golden Horde. 1272 Khubilai adopts Chinese dynastic title Yuan. 1274 First attempt to conquer Japan. 1279 End of Song resistance against Mongols is considered the founding date of the Yuan dynasty, or Yuan Ulus. 1281 Second attempt to conquer Japan. Fleet defeated prior to landing in Japan by storms praised by Japanese as "Winds of Godly power" - kamikaze. 1291-2 Mongols defeated in Java. 1287 Rabban Sauma (also known as Bar Sawma) sent to Europe by Il Khan Arghun. 1313 Özbäg becomes the last powerful Mongol ruler of the Golden Horde. 1335 Death of Abu Sa'id, the last Il Khan of Hülägü's line, probably by poisoning. Beginning decline of the Il Khanate. No new ruler powerful enough to govern the whole Khanate emerges. Within a few years, the Il Khanate collapses. 1368 The Yuan rule in China collapses and yields to the Ming dynasty. 1485 Sheikh Ahmad becomes last Khan of the Golden Horde. 1502 Sheikh Ahmad's troups defeated by Mengli Girai. 1503 The peace between Lituania and Russia is considered as the end of the Golden Horde. 1505 Alexander of Lituania has Sheikh Ahmad executed. 1586 Ärdänä Zuu founded. 1578 Altan Khan awards the title of Dalai Lama to the Tibetan priest Bsod-nams Rgya-mcho. Eastern Mongolia embraces Tibetan buddhism. 1604 Ligdan Khan becomes last of the Mongolian Great Khans. 1604-1634 Mongolian rulers fail to recognize Ligdan Khan's attempts to unify the Mongolian tribes; at Ligdan's death in 1634 even the remaining Caxar flee; the collapse of Mongolian power leads to Manchu claims over southern and east Mongolian territory which will now be called "Inner Mongolia". 1636 Ming toppled with Mongolian assistance; Qing dynasty founded. 1638 Lifan Yuan founded. The equivalent of the "India Office" in some aspects, it was responsible for Mongolian, Tibetan, Uighur and Russian affairs. 1686 Zanabazar invents Soyombo script. 1689 Manchu-Russian Treaty of Nerchinsk. Russian border defined. 1691 Council of Dolon nor. Xalx Mongol rulers submit formally to the Manchu Court. 1761 Final organization of the Lifan Yuan. 1911 End of Qing Dynasty. 8th Yebcundamba Xutugtu enthroned as Head of Autonomous Mongolia. 1915 Treaty of Kyakhta. Russia and China maintain various privileges in Autonomous Mongolia (the third partner) without Autonomous Mongolia being able to decide her on territorial issues. 1921 Baron of Ungern-Sternberg in Xalx. 1921-1924 Provisional Revolutionary People's Government in Xalx. 1923 Death of Süxbaatar, revolutionary hero of modern Mongolia. 1924 Death of the 8th (and last) Zebcundamba Xutugtu. Foundation of the Mongolian People's Republic (MPR; in Mongolian: BNMAU, Bügd Naïramdax Mongol Ard Uls); first national assembly, Ardyn Ix Xural or Great People's Hural held. Örgöö (Urga) renamed Ulaanbaatar. 1939 Battle of Xalxyn Gol between Japanese-Manchukuo and Soviet- Mongolian forces. 1945 Inner Mongol Autonomous Region founded. 1961 Mongolian People's Republic joins UNO; membership strongly supported by India. 1962 Mongolian People's Republic becomes COMECOM member. 1990, March Mongolian demonstrators demand reforms, glasnost' and multi- party elections. New parties are founded by young Mongolian intellectuals. 1991 COMECON dismantled; Mongolia deeply hit by economical crisis. 1992, Feb. Mongolian People's Republic adopts new constitution and is renamed Mongol Uls - Mongolia. 1992, June Mongolia hold elections; the old Communist party MAXN wins with a comfortable majority of seats in the new parliament. Jasraï becomes Prime Minister. 1996, June Mongolia holds elections; the old Communist party MAXN is defeated, and the Democrats gain a landslide victory. They come close to the two-thirds majority needed for constitutional amendmends. New Prime Minister is Änxsaïxan. 1997, May 18 Bagabandi (MAXN) elected President of Mongolia, replacing P. Oqirbat. 3.3. Who is Who among the Khans? The genealogy of the founders of the Mongolian empires is given here; complete biographies exceed the scope of the FAQ and will be found in the Who is Who part of Infosystem Mongolei, scheduled for the near future. [I] Chinggis Khan (*1167? -- +1227) | +--------+---------------+--------------+ | | [II] | Four sons: Jochi Chaghatai "Ogedei Tolui (*1180?) (*1186) (*1190?) (+1227) (+1242) (+1241) (+1232/3) | | | | | | | | Batu, Chaghatai | | 2nd son Khans [III] | (*1207) Guyuk | | | | | | | Khans of the | Golden Horde | | +---------------+---------+------------+ [IV] [V] | | M"ongke Khubilai Hulegu Ariq-B"oke (*1208) (*1215) (*1218) (*?) (+1259) (+1294) (+1265) (+1266) | | Yuan Il Khans Emperors The Great Khans ruled in following chronological order: Chinggis Khan: 12 -1227 "Ogedei: 1229-1241 Guyuk: 1246-1248 M"ongke: 1251-1259 Khubilai: 1260-1294 3.4. How does the Mongolian National Flag look like, and what does it mean? The Mongolian flag consists of three bands, red, blue, and red, of equal width. In the left red band there is the national symbol, called Soyombo. Its history dates back to the 17th century AD to the creation of the Soyombo script by Zanabazar (see also the paragraph on Mongolian writing below). The three-tongued flame on top symbolizes the nation's past, present and future prosperity (this and the following paragraph quoted from: This is Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 1991), sun and crescent, immediately below the flame, are old Mongolian totems. The two triangles in the upper and lower part tell about the people's determination to uphold their freedom and independence. The rectangles and walls stand for strength, uprightness and honesty. The Yin-Yang symbol in the center is interpreted in two ways: some see the unity of pairs of natural elements, fire and water, earth and sky, man and woman; others see two fishes standing for continuous movement since fishes neever sleep as they cannot close their eyes. In 1924 the first Great People's Hural (National Assembly) decided to crown the symbol with a 5-pointed star which was abolished with the new constitution of 1992. 3.5. How do Mongolians live? The prevailing Mongolian style of life is pastoral nomadism. Mongolia proper has an immense richness in livestock; the Five Species of Animal, as they are traditionally counted in Mongolian (tawun xoshuu mal) are sheep, goat, camel, horse and cattle. Sheep deliver wool, goat and cattle deliver milk and meet, camel, and cattle provide transport, and horses are used for riding. Between twice and four times a year a typical herders' family moves between a winter camp and a summer camp. Depending on the area (grasslands in the east, semi-desert and desert in the south (gobi literally means desert) the composition of the livestock changes significantly. Traditionally, pastoral nomadism secures a kind of self-sufficient life; the wool is used to produce fabric and felt for the gär, the traditional Mongolian round tent; hides are processed into leather for all kinds of goods from boots to household ustensils; in the summer, milk is processed into dairy products; only surplus meat is traded against grain and rice. Only around one percent of Mongolia's surface is used as arable land for grain production. This type of economy is challenged by modern-day's industrial production with its typical and profound division of labour; the industrial society which prevails in the few major cities of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar (being the capital), Darxan (in the north) and Ärdänät (the mining centre) is based on trade and the exploitation of natural resources like ores and coal; this economy is virtually detached from the countryside and was hit hardest during the economical crisis of the early 1990s. In other areas (e.g. in Gansu and Yunnan) the population of Mongolian origin leads a sedentary life and engages in agricultural work. The life in Southern Mongolia (Inner Mongol Autonomous Region) is mainly determined by the industrialization which took place in the first quarter of the 20th century; big cities like Xöxxot (Huhhot) and Baotou (the major metal-processing centre of Southern Mongolia) show little affinity to traditional Mongolian life. The currency unit of Mongolia is named tögrög, conventionally rendered as Tugrik in western languages. One American dollar is roughly equivalent to 800 to 1,000 tugrik in 1996/1997. Inner Mongolia uses the Chinese Yuan (Renminbi or RMB). The Chinese banknotes carry inscriptions in five languages (Chinese, Mongol, Tibetan, Uighur and Zhuang). 3.6. Who speaks Mongolian? Virtually all citizens of Mongolia proper speak Mongolian. Some do not because they are either of Kazakh or other ethnic origin. Not all ethnic Mongols in Southern Mongolia do speak Mongol, many of them have switched to Chinese. Similar phenomena can be observed in Buryatia where many inhabitants speak Russian. The minor communities scattered over China (Dongxiang (cf. article in Infosystem Mongolei), Dagur, Eastern Yugur, Tuzu, Bao'an etc.) and Afghanistan (Moghol) speak some very old varieties of Mongolian which have developed into proper languages in their own right. Even up to the 1980s, some of these languages were not well documented. The Kalmyks speak a form of Mongolian known as Kalmyk which even developed its own modified form of writing known as "Tod" or "clear" writing because it identifies vowels and some consonants (k/g, t/d) in an unambiguous manner. 3.7. What kind of a language is Mongolian? 3.7.1. Mongolian - Language Mongolian belongs to the Altaic family of languages showing structural (and partially lexical) similarities with languages of the Tungusic group of this family (e.g. Manchu) and the Turkic group of this family (e.g. Turkish). Mongolian has strong vowel harmony: all vowels within one word and even all grammatical particles must be chosen from one of two vowel sets which are known as male and female or back and front vowels. Mongolian has a total of seven short vowels. There are also seven long vowels. The distinction between short and long vowels is essential as it alters the meaning: tos is "grease, oil" while toos is "dust". Besides simple short and long vowels there are also diphtongs which have duration values similar to long vowels. The stress is usually put on the first syllable if all syllables of a word are short; otherwise the stress is put on the first syllable carrying a long vowel. The set of consonants has many constraints: r may not occur at the beginning of a word. f only occurs in foreign loans and is frequently converted to p. w and b though phonetically different do not form an opposition on the phonological level. The same holds true for c and q (c as tsar, q as chill) as well as j (as in jeep) and z (best described as fairly unvoiced ds). Both pairs are expressed by the same symbol in Classical writing and the development of different phonetical realisations is mainly due to vowel environment and dialect situation. The consonants k and g are linked to vowel harmony. In words containing back vowels, k changes to x and g becomes G (a voiced velar). Beginners frequently confuse the latter with something like a French r. 3.7.2. Mongolian - Grammar The grammar is fairly simple: all predicates are put at the end of the sentence resulting in a S.O.P. (subject - object - predicate) structure. There are no subordinate clauses in the sense of Indo- European languages. Attributes are placed in front of the denominated entity. Indo-European style subordinate clauses (Relativsatz, etc.) are resolved as attribute constructions. Verbs can be collated to form new meanings or expand or intensify the meaning of the main verb. Verbs occur in two distinct categories: 1) the "genuine" or finite verb forms finish phrases, serve as predicates and can be compared to ordinary verbs of Indo-European languages; 2) all other verb forms, be they converbs (modifiers of other verbs), verbal nouns (usually translated as verbs but with the complete behaviour of nouns like the ability to form oblique cases) or the equivalents to participles and gerundial forms cannot be used to finish phrases. As a rule of thumb, a Mongolian phrase usually has numerous occurrences of verbs of the second class but only one finite verb at the end of the phrase. As an exception to this rule of thumb, under certain circumstances phrases may also end with a verbal noun as predicate. All grammatical functions and relations are expressed by suffixes which are "glued" to the end of a root be it noun or verb hence the term "agglutinative language". More than one suffix can be attached to a word: e.g. tääsh "bag"; tääshääs "out of the bag"; tääshääsää "out of his/her bag"); bolgoomj "care"; bolgoomjtoï "with care" -> careful (as adjective); bolgoomjtoïgoor "acting with care" -> doing something carefully (as adverb). The repetitive nature of similar endings has strongly influenced traditional lyrics which uses line alliterations and line-internal alliterations as a main element for structuring versed speech. The emphasized beginnings of words thus form a healthy offset to the grammatical suffices. 3.7.3. Mongolian - Writing Mongolian writing is a fairly complex topic. In the history of the written language, numerous scripts were either accepted from other cultures or domestically designed. The most important scripts are Uighur, Chinese, Phagsba, Soyombo and Cyrillic. Other scripts than these five were also employed at given times in history, e.g. Latin which had been used during the 1930s but only the first five shall be discussed here. 3.7.3.1. Mongolian Writing: Uighur The traditional Mongolian script is written in vertical lines from left to right, very much like an Arab page turned counter-clockwise by 90 degrees. Though this script (called Uighur script because the Uighurs had used it first) has been the main vehicle of written Mongolian, a number of other writing systems have been and are being employed. The earliest documents still existing date back to the 13th century. Despite numerous other attempts to introduce different types of writing, this script has proven to be to most stable vehicle of written Mongolian. It was used up to the 1930s in Mongolia when it was first replaced with a short-lived Latin script (until 1938) and then replaced by a modified Cyrillic script in 1940. In Southern Mongolia or China's Inner Mongolia (Inner Mongol Autonomous Region, or Öwör Mongol Öörtöö Zasax Oron) Uighur or Classical Mongolian writing is still the official writing system. Similar to the historical orthography of English, Classical Mongolian as it is used today contains a lot of phonological archaisms and historical features which make it sometimes not perfectly easy to learn but which offer valuable insight for linguists and provide enough of dialect neutrality for modern-day speakers from the most Mongolian language areas. In the beginning of the 1990's, Mongolia was considering the return to the Classical script despite the heavy financial and social cost: New schoolbooks had to be compiled and many adults who were born after 1940 must now learn a completely different writing system which does not only look different but which also represents a different historical development stage of the Mongolian language. In 1992, A law was passed to the effect that from 1994 on Mongolian Classical script be the official writing of Mongolia again. Even the new constitution of Mongolia passed in 1992 was printed in Modern (Cyrillic) and Classical (Uighur) Mongolian (see the Constitution in Modern Mongolian, MLS-encoded and Constitution in Classical Mongolian, MLS-encoded, both in Infosystem Mongolei) but one year after this magic date nothing really changed substantially. 3.7.3.2. Mongolian Writing: Chinese Astonishing as it may sound, Chinese has been the writing of choice for important Mongolian documents during the 13th and 14th century. Chinese characters (a virtually canonical set of some 500 characters) were used according to their pronounciation. Some characters failed to render the pronounciation and were prefixed (or affixed) with modifiers, small Chinese characters indicating whether the main consonant (or `initial') of the syllable had to be pronounced in a velar manner of not. The most important document written with Chinese characters is the Secret History of the Mongols. It was an achievement of the late 19th and the early 20th century to decypher the text and restore its original Mongolian shape. The problems linked to this work are manyfold: One has to understand Early Mandarin (the name of the specific form of Chinese used for this script) phonology, and one has to understand words which appear only in this text but no other source, not even the famous Hua Yi Yi Yu or Barbarian Glossaries, Chinese dictionaries of the Middle Ages dealing with a number of Central and North-East Asian languages. The most promiment scholars contributing to the understanding of these texts were the Japanese K. Shiratori, the German E. Haenisch, the Japanese Hattori, to name just a few. Using Chinese characters for writing Mongolian had the big advantage that a message encoded in this system was obscure to a Chinese messenger but perfectly transparent to a Mongolian listener. Despite this advantage of privacy, the system ceased to be used in the early 14th century. 3.7.3.3. Mongolian Writing: Phagsba The Phagsba or Square Writing was developed in the 13th century by a famous Tibetan monk and scholar, Phagsba. Designed as the Unified Writing of the Yuan (emphasis through capitalisation added by OC), it combined the features of Tibetan (e.g., rich consonant inventory) with the features of Chinese (vertical writing direction) and Mongolian (additional vowels were provided). Despite its functionality, it could not establish itself properly and came largely out of use after the fall of the Yuan dynasty. The Phagsba or Square Writing is a valuable research tool because 14th century dictionaries give us a deep insight in the phonetics and phonology of Mongolian (and, by the way, Chinese) of those days. 3.7.3.4. Mongolian Writing: Soyombo Another writing the design of which was politically motivated was the Soyombo script designed by the monk and scholar Zanabazar in 1686. It is of intriguing beauty and complexity yet never really succeeded as script for everyday use. The only symbol of that script which can be seen literally everywhere is the Soyombo symbol. More about the Soyombo script and symbol can be found at the Soyombo Script page of Infosystem Mongolei. 3.7.3.5. Mongolian Writing: Cyrillic In 1940, The then Mongolian People's Republic started using a modified Cyrillic alphabet which was extended by two vowel symbols, ö and ü, the female counterparts of o and u. The orthography of Cyrillic Mongolian is based on the Xalx dialect. Despite a few orthographic instabilities, the Cyrillic system is the major vehicle of written communication today in Mongolia; virtually all newspapers, book etc. are printed in Cyrillic letters. Since the system is based on the Xalx dialect, it is not as transparent for speakers from other Mongolian areas if compared with the Classical script; on the other hand, the clearly phonemical notation makes it easy to understand written materials read aloud, and it allows easy searching of dictionaries. Despite the strong political overtones around its inception in the 1940s, the Cyrillic writing has proven to be useful and practical. Due to its structural similarity to Latin, the Cyrillic script could be integrated into the world of modern information technology (printing equipment, data interchange, computing, etc.) which further promoted the solid standing of Cyrillic writing in present day's Mongolia. 3.8. Is Mongolian easy to learn? From the introduction about the Mongolian language we can draw the following conclusions on whether Mongolian is or is not easy to learn. Since it is an SOP language its grammar may pose problems to speakers of most European languages and Chinese. It should however be much easier for learners with a background in Japanese, Korean, Turkish, Manchu or similar languages. Since the assumptions on word classes ('parts of speech') sometimes differs thoroughly from most Indo-European languages, problems may arise in this field (When does an "adjective" need declension? Is it really what we call an adjective?). The pronounciation does not pose enormous difficulties. Although there are no completely unfamiliar sounds for speakers of most other languages tutoring is strongly recommended during the initial phase of acquiring phonetics and phonology. The Classical writing system should be learned under a teacher's or tutor's guidance - it is sometimes a bit tricky to master it on one's own. The number of language training materials is not overwhelming, dictionaries are only available for a few languages (notably Russian, Chinese and English; but also German and Japanese. See the document by Christopher Kaplonski and Oliver Corff: SROMDIC - Suggested Readings on Mongolia - Dictionaries in Infosystem Mongolei) The final key to success is practice, practice, practice. Expose yourself to as much printed and audio material as possible. 3.9. Are the Mongolian dialects an obstacle for the foreigner learn ing Mongolian? The languages in Mongolia and Southern Mongolia are virtually the same: Mongolian is spoken in Mongolia and Southern Mongolia, but it is spoken in its Xalx (Khalkha) form in Mongolia but spoken in its Qaxar (Chahar or Cahar in alternate spellings) dialect form in Southern (Inner) Mongolia. Besides Qaxar, there are other dialects: Alashan in the western regions of Southern Mongolia, and the forms spoken in Hulunbuir (eastern part of Southern Mongolia). Nonetheless, Qaxar is the quasi-standard of Southern Mongolia. Differences can be found in lexicon, pronounciation and grammar. The differences in lexicon differs mostly in the realm of foreign loans: Chinese words are more popular in Southern Mongolia (e.g. biyanji for editor) which is redaktor in Russian-influenced Xalx; both try to re- introduce the genuinely Mongolian term nairuulagq. Other words, especially of theoretical and political nature, are often formed after completely different roots. The pronounciation differs in the case that some sounds which were not separated in the Classical Mongolian writing (like z) are now pronounced like z in Mongolia and j in Southern Mongolia. This is a general rule which is influenced by the following vowel, i.e. whether a i or something different follows. Grammar is occasionally distinct because elder forms are sometimes preserved in Southern Mongolian speech. In general, it is not too difficult to speak Xalx in Southern Mongolia since Xalx is recognized as the prestigious lingua franca of the International Mongol community. It is however slightly more difficult to understand Qaxar if one has only enjoyed Xalx training. The differences are aggravated by the usage of different writing systems. Southern Mongolia keeps using the Classical Mongolian writing (which is very conservative, also for the grammatical endings of verbs etc.) while in Mongolia in the 1940s an extended Cyrillic alphabet was introduced. The extensions were necessary to accommodate the Mongolian vowels ö and ü which are usually indicated by two dots over o and u in transliterations. 4. Mongolia - Administrative 4.1. I want to study in Mongolia. Where do I establish contact? Contact your university. They may already have an exchange program with Mongolia without your knowledge. If this fails, contact your national academic exchange service (e.g. the DAAD in Germany or the JFPS in Japan). 4.2. Where do I establish first contact? I want to work in Mongolia, e.g. teach a foreign language. Here as above it is recommended to contact your university or your national academic exchange service. You are strongly discouraged to go to Mongolia posing as a foreign language teacher if you are not one for purposes other than teaching, e.g. missionary work. While in the beginning of the 1990s it was still possible to do so, anyone not being sent by an acknowledged academical institution or governmental body must now show certificates proving his/her qualification as a teacher. In addition, every foreigner staying within Mongolia for more than ten days has to register with police. In case of foreign experts, foreign personnel etc. the employer or host will certainly assist. Not registering has consequences when leaving the country. Regularly you get fined (anything near USD100.--) and you may risk missing your plane/train. It is not worth the trouble. 4.3. I want to study in Inner Mongolia. Where do I establish contact? The answer here is the same as above. Only one difference must be observed: Politically being a part of China, all programs dealing with Inner Mongolia are usually in the Chinese section or department. 4.4. Where do I establish first contact? I want to work in Inner Mongolia, e.g. teach a foreign language. The answer here is the same as above. Only one difference must be observed: Politically being a part of China, all programs dealing with Inner Mongolia are usually kept in the Chinese section or department of the exchange organization or university. 4.5. I want to travel to Mongolia. What kind of travel documentation do I need? You must obtain a visa at a Mongolian embassy or consulate. (See below for a list of embassies / consulates). If you intend to stay less than one month, then every Mongolian embassy and consulate will issue a visa without further need of an official invitation. If you intend to stay longer than one month in Mongolia, or intend to go there on official matter, then you need an official invitation issued by a Mongolian institution. Once you have entered Mongolia various regulations on registering with police may apply depending on the length and nature of your stay. It is more than highly recommended to observe the registration procedury since you may risk being denied exit from the country upon presenting your passport at the airport without the proper police registration stamps. You also risk being fined somewhere in the area of USD 100.-- upon exiting Mongolia when disobeying the mandatory registration rule. Persons staying on official visa (category "A") should turn to their official host (university, government ministry, etc.) for assistance. For details, ask your Mongolian embassy when receiving the visa. 4.6. I want to travel to Inner Mongolia. What kind of travel documen tation do I need? You need a visa issued by the authorities of the People's Republic of China. Once in China (and Inner Mongolia) you'll be requested to register at a hotel etc. by using the forms available there. Various other procedures may apply depending on length and nature of your stay. 4.7. I want to travel to Buryatia. What kind of travel documentation do I need? You need a visa issued by the authorities of the Russian Federation. Contact your local (usually former USSR) embassy. 4.8. I want to travel to Kalmykia. What kind of travel documentation do I need? You need a visa issued by the authorities of the Russian Federation. See above. 4.9. Where is the nearest embassy / consulate of Mongolia? There are not so many Mongolian embassies and consulates. Most of them are accredited for several countries. The following list is very incomplete and remains to be completed with the readers' help. Since it is helpful to use a travel agency's services when applying for a visa this list contains also some information about travel agents. If you miss your favourite agent here then you can send the address to Infosystem Mongolei. The selection here is purely "global" (whatever is submitted gets published). Please note that the addresses, telephone numbers etc. could not always be verified and counter-checked. They may be subject to change without notice. The editor of this FAQ tries to maintain all information in a state as correct as possible but relies on the contributors' accuracy. Mongolian Embassy in Australia There is no embassy in Australia. Australia is covered by the Mongolian Embassy in China, Beijing. Honorary Consul in Austria Mr. Johannes Stiedl Anhofstr. 65-67 A-1130 Wien Tel.: ++ 43 1 8773353 1724 5661 Mongolian Embassy in China No. 2 Xiu Shui Bei Jie Jian Guo Men Wai District Beijing Tel.: ++ 86 10 6532 1203 Fax : ++ 86 10 6532 5045 Mongolian Embassy in France 5, Av. R. Schuman Paris Tel.: (+33) 1 46 05 30 16 or (+33) 1 46 05 23 18 Mongolian Embassy in Germany Siebengebirgsblick 4 53844 Troisdorf Tel.: 02241-402727 Außenstelle der Mongolischen Botschaft in Berlin Gotlandstr. 12 10439 Berlin Tel.: 030-4469320 21 Honorary Consul in Hong Kong Mr. Kwok Shiu Ming 4 Sommerset Toad, Kowloon Hong Kong Tel.: ++ 852 338 9034 Fax : ++ 852 338 0633 Honorary Consul in Italy Mr. Aldo Colleoni viale XX Settembre, 37 34126 Trieste Tel.: 040-362241 Fax 040-363494 telex 461138 CONMON1. Mongolian Embassy in Japan Pine Crest Mansion 21-4, Kamiyamacho Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150 Tel.: 03-3469-2088 Mongolian Embassy in New Zealand New Zealand Embassy and Ambassador in Beijing are credited for NZ foreign affairs to Mongolia, while Mongolian embassies in Tokyo or Beijing handle matters between Mongolia and NZ. See China. Mongolian Embassy in the United Kingdom 7 Kensington Court LONDON W8 5DL Tel: (0171) 937 5238 Tel: (0171) 937 0150 Mongolian Embassy in the USA 2833 M Street, NW Washington, DC Tel: 202-333-7117 Honorary Consul in Switzerland Stephan Bischofberger P.O.Box 173 Limmatstr. 35 8005 Zürich Fax : ++ 1 272 7924 Tel.: ++ 1 272 4005 According to the Swiss electronic telephone directory ETV, Mr. Bischofberger seems to be in charge of a travel agency named `Discovery Tours'. * Selected Travel Agents * Mongolian Tourism Corporation of America A joint venture between Zhuulchin and an American travel agency. Princeton Corporate Plaza 1 Deer Park Drive, Suite M Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852 Tel.: ++ 1 908-274-0088 NOMADIC EXPEDITIONS is both present in the U.S.A. and Mongolia (see addresses below); it is however not affiliated with the Mongolian company Zhuulchin, as the Mongolia FAQ erroneously indicated in former issues. NOMADIC EXPEDITIONS Princeton Corporate Center 5 Independence Way, Suite 300 Princeton, NJ 08540 NOMADIC EXPEDITIONS Peace & Friendship House, Suite 7 Peace Avenue Ulaanbaatar 210644 Mongolia Ph/fax: (976-1) 320 311 E-mail: NomadicExp@magicnet.mn http://www.NomadicExp.com BOOJUM Expeditions 14543 Kelly Canyon Road Bozeman, MT 59715 USA Tel.: ++ 1 406-587-0125 Fax : ++ 1 406-585-3474 Boojum@delphi.com boojum@mcn.net BOOJUM Expeditions now have their own URLs: http://www.manymedia.com/tibet/Boojum.html or http://www.gorp.com/boojum/boojum.htm NOMADIC JOURNEYS Ltd P.O. Box 479 Ulaanbaatar 13 Tel/fax: +976 1 323043 Which can be reached from June to mid September every year. In the winter period reservations for tour operators and groups are with Jan Wigsten in Gotland: Eco Tour Production Ltd Burge i Hablingbo 620 11 Havdhem Gotland, SCHWEDEN. tel 0498 487105 fax +46 498 487115 e-mail: janw.nomadic@gotlandica.se Nature Tour, PO Box 49/53, Ulaanbaatar or Baga Toiruu-10, Mongolian Youth Federation Bldg, Room 212 Tel: 312392 Fax: 311979 They arrange for jeeps and drivers for those wanting to explore the country. Also, they run a ger hostel near Xar Xorin. Mykel Board stayed there. It's somewhat expensive (about USD 50.-- a day) but includes all meals and local sight-seeing. Beyond the range of the official state travel agency Zhuulchin there are now numerous private agencies operating in Mongolia. Their addresses are occasionally hard to come by but a good source is the World Tourism Handbook. 5. Mongolia - Tourism 5.1. How to travel to Mongolia? The principal ways to Mongolia are by train and by air. The capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, is connected via the Transmongolian Railway to China and Buryatia. In Ulan Ude, capital of Buryatia, the Transsiberian Railway (leading from Moscow to the Russian Far East, Khabaravosk, Nakhodka etc.) connects to the Transmongolian Railway. Trains from Moscow to Beijing run once a week in each direction and take about five days for the whole trip. There are also `local trains' between Irkutsk (Ärxüüd) and Ulaanbaatar which take about 24 hours one way. Similar local trains run between Ulaanbaatar and Beijing. Since the Transmongolian Railway sports only one track this is a bottleneck for railway traffic which results in these one train/week schedules. Prices for train tickets vary between USD 200 and USD 500. It is not possible to state any exact amount because prices fluctuate, the currency exchange rates vary daily and pricing policies create different price tags depending on where the tickets are purchased. Further information can be consulted at Trans-Siberian Train Schedules and Prices (http://206.13.127.134/bus/wnights/trans- siberian.html) The second feasible way to enter Mongolia is by air. Air transport is available between Buyant Uxaa (the international airport of Ulaanbaatar) and Beijing as well as Irkutsk, the latter with a weekly connect flight to Moscow (or should I say, it's a weekly flight to Moscow with a stop-over in Irkutsk?). These lines are served throughout the whole year. In summer, there are additional flights to Huhhot (Inner Mongolia) and Japan, the latter being served on a somewhat irregular basis. Past experience has shown that these links were just chartered flights without a genuine "schedule" in the sense of the word. There are about four to six international passenger flights per week connecting Ulaanbaatar and the rest of the world. Links to other Central Asian regions are under consideration or offered on a seasonal basis such as a flight between Almaty / Kazakhstan and Mongolia. A new route has recently been opened between Buyant Uxaa and Seoul, Korea (spring 1996). The latest developments (fall 1996) include an air link between Buyant Uxaa / Ulaanbaatar and Germany, Berlin Schoenefeld (code SXF - important because there are two other public airports in Berlin). The flights are scheduled on a weekly basis (Sunday: OM135 goes to Berlin, OM136 returns to Ulaanbaatar). There is a stop-over in Shcheremetyevo/Moscow and a fuel refill in Nowosibirsk. Prices for the return ticket start from appr. USD 1200 when bought in Berlin. Only the prices on the Ulaanbaatar / Beijing route are fairly constant: around USD 200.-- for a one-way ticket. For almost all other destinations there are wildly varying ticket prices depending on where the ticket is bought and whether the client is entitled to special reductions (like being an official student at the Mongolian National University). 5.2. What kind of accommodation is available in Mongolia? In Ulaanbaatar there are some big hotels. One of them is a monument to Soviet-style luxury and lavishness: The "Ulaanbaatar Zoqid Buudal". Located next to the central square, it is ideal for travellers with a not so restricted budget. Price tags start at USD 60.- (or so) and the two dining rooms are frequently used by external guests when every other supply of food in Ulaanbaatar collapses. The next important hotel (near the Bogd Gegen Palace) is the Bayangol which was thoroughly revamped in 1992. Similar standard. The "Chinggis Khan Hotel" in Sansar (a district name in Ulaanbaatar) has been "due to open soon" since 1991 but did not do so until 1995. It used to be "under construction" and was temporarily managed by the Holiday Inn group, a Korean group (Lotte, I think) until it was finally taken over by a Mongolian enterprise. It offers good Western food and is virtually empty so that you can enjoy a very calm meal there. Service is good, part of the personnel was trained in Munich, Germany. Small hotels for the traveller with a tight budget include the "Stroitel" (Russian: construction worker) which is north of the Ix Toirog (Great Ring) Road close to the smaller monastery. A Mongolian- Chinese joint venture is the "Manduhai" hotel near the Ix Dälgüür (Department Store). Clean rooms, simple furniture, but nice atmosphere and acceptable price tag. Other private hotels keep opening with the rise of the private sector. These offer similar prices (sometimes starting with USD 10.-- / day for a complete little flat) but the situations keeps changing so it is difficult to give names and addresses here. New hotels open constantly; a nice choice is the "Flower Hotel" which is the former "Altai Zoqid Buudal". It is under Japanese management now. In the countryside the situation looks different. In the tourist spots there are ger camps with a complete infrastructure (restaurant gers, shower facilities etc.) and they are quite convenient because they ensure a minimum of reliability for the traveller. Some of these camps are still operated by Juulqin while new camps are operated by private companies. Once leaving the tourist paths the situation again looks different. It is possible to ask at people's homes (= gers) but one may be turned away (already too many people staying there). Prepare for a long demarche to the "neighbour" (maybe 50 or 100 kilometers (30 to 60 miles). Never, never forget to bring a reasonably useful and valuable gift. Useful and valuable gifts include tobacco, vodka, snuff bottles, snuff tobacco and other objects. When staying at somebody's home then stick to the following minimal rules regardless how friendly people may appear to you: 1. Check carefully whether your potential host is capable at all of accommodating another guest. In order to find out, you can check for the number of family members, the situation of the animals, etc. 2. Never stay longer than one day. 3. Never refuse ceremonial offerings of tea even if it is salty, etc. 4. Roll down the sleeves of your shirt/coat no matter which temperature it is. If it is summer and you (and Mongolians) wear a t-shirt, then pretend to roll down your sleeves symbolically when being offered food and drink. 5. Never accept any offering of food, drink etc. with your left hand. Both hands is best. 6. If there is only a well, not a river nearby, never abuse it as a bathtub. Water in general and wells in particular are precious in this country. 7. When bringing your own food or drink never forget to offer it to everybody. Never attempt to munch your biscuits secretely. If you can't resist eating your own biscuits then wait until you are on the road again. 8. Perhaps last in this list, but not least: Show due respect to the dogs and animals of your host. The dog will only respect you if advised by his master to do so. Mongolian dogs are no pets! 5.3. What kind of transport is available in Mongolia? "In UB, you can walk, ride the bus, or flag done a private vehicle and negotiate a price. No taxis. I was fairly insu lated from that, as my cousin has a car. But I did a lot of walking anyway, because I like to walk and the city is a convenient one to walk in. Most of the hotels are near the center of the city, as are many of the sights. The exception is the big market, which runs on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays - it's a bit of a hike from downtown." (Quoted from Peter Crandall's Mongolia Travelogue) Besides that, Ulaanbaatar sports numerous public bus lines which are usually more than crowded but offer about the cheapest rides in the world even though the prices went up by a factor of 100 from 1991 to 1995: In 1990, a bus ticket was 0.50t, while in September 1996 it was 50t. Travelling to the country requires going by MIAT, the national air line carrier, or renting a jeep. MIAT flights are fairly irregular (usually only once a week per direction) and may be cancelled completely for lack of gasoline. It may happen that you take a flight to Uws and cannot return for 8 weeks. Renting a jeep is fairly inexpensive and usually includes a driver who is indispensable because this man usually knows the way in the endless steppe. He also has the technical skill to cross rivers, sand dunes etc. A "Camel Trophy" - commercial-like driving style may ruin vehicle and passengers. In the areas closer to Ulaanbaatar (within a 500-km or 300 miles range) there are busses available. Their departure takes place in front of the Museum of Fine Arts downtown Ulaanbaatar. 5.4. Which season is recommended for travelling? Summer is beautiful but short. Winter is not recommended if you go beyond Ulaanbaatar. Road conditions, living conditions, nutrition and everything becomes too scarce. A good start is in May. It is still cold but the overwhelming beauty of spring, the mild fragrance of blossoms and the fresh smell of water offer experiences which one will never forget. 5.5. What are the points of sightseeing, museums etc.? Mongolia is a country rich in natural beauty which includes a wide range of different types of landscape on her vast territory. From the Gobi desert in the south to the pristine waters of Lake Xöwsgöl in the north, from the grasslands of the east to the Altai mountain range in the west there is something for every traveller who loves nature. For those interested in culture and religion, there are numerous museums in Ulaanbaatar: · Natural History Museum, · Geological Museum, · Hunting Museum, · Historical Museum: the former revolutionary museum - it now hosts an extensive exhibition focussing on the years of reform, 1989-1991 and a beautiful collection of Mongolian garments, · Fine Arts Museum: with some fine pieces of religious silk painting --- thankas, · Choijil Monastery: located in the centre of Ulaanbaatar, this former monastery is now the home of the priceless sculptures crafted by the famous monk, politian, sculptor and philologist Zanabazar; · Bogd Khan Museum: the palace of the last dynastic ruler of Mongolia; and · Municipial Museum: the first seat of the Revolutionary Party in Ulaanbaatar, now sporting a collection of exhibits related to the history of Ulaanbaatar as well as a display of diplomatic gifts from former socialist brother states. The universities have some permanent faculty exhibitions which are often worth visiting. Most Aimag capitals have their own local natural history museum. Xar Xorin has a temple museum about Chingis Khan and the buddhist oriented spiritual history of Mongolia. This list does not claim to be complete. Main points of interest outside Ulaanbaatar include the former Capital Xar Xorin (Kara Korum, or "Black Fortress", derived from the word xäräm) and Manjshiriïn Xiïd in Zuun Mod, Central Aimag. Only two or so of the over 700 monasteries survived the Stalinist purges of 1937/1938. One of them is the Gandan monastery in Ulaanbaatar which recently underwent major reconstruction, and the other one is situated within the walls of the Xar Xorin compound. Manjshiriin Xiid is the monastery dedicated to the protector goddess of Mongolia, Manjushri. The ruins of the monastery, situated in a valley at the south slope of Bogd Uul mountain, are a silent witness of the atrocities which took place in 1937/38. Recently, money has been donated to reconstruct the monastery, and first steps towards that direction are the erection of a small museum on its site with many photographs of the 1920s showing the former dimensions of the monastery complex. Another famous monastery worth visiting is Amarbayasgalang, and en route between Xujirt and Xar Xorin you can find the somewhat smaller Baruun Xuree (Western Monastery). The travel literature on Mongolia offers more in-depth information. 6. Inner Mongolia - Tourism 6.1. How to travel to Inner Mongolia? Inner Mongolia can be reached by train and by aircraft. The Transmongolian Railway which leads from Beijing via Ulaanbaatar to Ulan Ude crosses the Mongolian-Chinese border at Erenhot (Erlianhaote) / China and Zamyn Üüd / Mongolia. North of Datong it connects to the Chinese Railway, Inner Mongolian branch leading to Baotou and eventually to Ningxia and Gansu which implies that one can also travel to Inner Mongolia when coming from Lanzhou and Yinchuan. It takes about 10 hours to travel from Beijing to Huhhot and the night train which leaves Beijing in the evening is very convenient as one arrives at Huhhot early in the next morning. Trains go on a regular basis (usually every day, sometimes every second day depending on the line) and are fairly reliable. Prices are reliable, too, but the foreign traveller is forced to pay about twice as much as the Chinese citizen. Due to frequent depreciation of the Chinese Yuan no fixed number can be given here but a one-way trip (second class sleeper) from Beijing to Huhhot should be around USD 40.--. Flights between Huhhot and Beijing go several times a week and last less than one hour. The ticket prices are not very much higher than those of the railway (considering prices for foreigners). Other destinations in Inner Mongolia are also served from Beijing. Up-to- date information on schedules should be available at travel agencies dealing China Airlines tickets. 6.2. What kind of accommodation is available in Inner Mongolia? The traveller's situation is governed by more rules here than in Mongolia. Basically, when staying in the cities (like Huhhot etc.) the traveller has no choice but to stay in huge hotels. In the countryside the situation is similar to that in Mongolia but is more difficult to get to the countryside. 6.3. What kind of transport is available in Inner Mongolia? In addition to railway (from and to Beijing, Huhhot, Baotou, Hailar etc.) there are flights between regional centres and long-distance busses within the regions. For local excursions you can also rent cars with drivers. 6.4. Which season is recommended for travelling? See the answer about Mongolia above. Generally speaking, travelling is difficult in winter. The grasslands show their beauty only in summer, and in winter there is "nothing to see" in the conventional sense. On the other hand, since there is "nothing to see" in winter, winter is a good time to go there if you want to see temples, monasteries etc., because at that time you most certainly do not have to compete with other tourists for resources like accommodation, transport e.a. In addition, the places you're interested in will most probably be fairly empty. 6.5. What are the points of sightseeing, museums etc.? Inner Mongolia deserves a better coverage in literature and in this FAQ than it finds at present. A few points of interest may be mentioned here (indicating that this is a *very* preliminary list). The Inner Mongolia Museum in Huhhot has an enormous collection of archaeological findings from the times of the Xiong Nu on. The gold crowns on display there are virtually identical in design with the ones unearthed in Japan and dated to Japan's Kofun period. These findings contain some of the strongest hints that early Japan (before the nation state emerged) may have been part of a unified culture stretching from Central Asia over Korea to Japan. Not so many temples and monasteries survived in Huhhot. One of the most intering ones is the "Five Pagoda Temple" (tabun suburGan sumu - wu ta si) the walls of which are covered with thousands of Buddha sculptures. Its most fascinating object is a stellar map cut in stone (more than two meters in diameter) which is the eldest map with Mongolian zodiacal names in the world. The stone carving is protected by thick layers of glass which make it practically impossible to take pictures but the site is well worth the visit. Of the two main temples ("Big" and "Small" Temple: yäkä zuu, baG=a zuu; da zhao, xiao zhao) only the big one remains as the small one was replaced by a school during the 1960s. The quarter of town where these temples are located is pittoresque and offers an insight into Chinese life (Huhhot by overwhelming majority is a city with Han- Chinese population) as it might have been `before Revolution', i.e. before 1949. The streets and lanes are so narrow that no automobile can pass, and rare enough for a Chinese city, much of the old architecture is preserved. Huhhot also has a mosque for its Hui nationality. 7. Mongolia - Computing Issues 7.1. Is there some kind of "Mongolian ASCII" or commonly acknowledged encoding standard for Mongolian language data processing? Unlike the American ASCII code, the Chinese GuoBiao code or the Japanese JIS code there is not yet a national code system for the encoding of Mongolian writing be it encoded in its Classical or Cyrillic form. As a consequence, no international standard organization (like ISO) could accept a national standard and turn it into an international one. The problems we find in this field are of a complex nature and frequently have strong mutual dependencies. Let's look at Cyrillic encoding first. It is not far-fetched to suggest using an existing Cyrillic encoding scheme for encoding Mongolian but not even such a simple idea is without its traps. There is more than one Cyrillic encoding, and some encodings are incomplete: they do not include the Cyrillic yo or ë. In addition, these tables (or code pages) usually have no space to accommodate the additional Mongolian vowel symbols ö and ü which must then be placed somewhere outside the natural order of the alphabet. Several modified code pages of this type exist; implementations available are mentioned below. With Classical writing, the situation is even more complicated. For a long time in history, there has not been one commonly acknowledged Classical Mongolian alphabet (or cagaan tolgoï); differences can be observed in the number of letters, the sorting order and the treatment of ambiguous letters which have more than one reading for a given shape, like t/d. The situation is further complicated by the fact that one given letter may assume numerous different shapes depending on its position within the word. The designer of an encoding scheme has to decide whether only canonical letters (the ones under which one would try to find a word in a dictionary) are to be included or whether all shape variants should be included as well. The next problem arises when thinking of computer technology. The eight bit (one byte) code space of commonly used systems cannot hold more than 256 characters of which 128 have been defined already. If both Cyrillic and Classical writing are to be enclosed in one common code space, it is only possible at the cost of sharing common letter shapes between Latin and Cyrillic characters. There is no other choice if one wants to avoid the switching of code pages in one document. Another problem intimately related to writing is the field of transcriptions and transliterations. The layout of rules for transliterating Classical or Cyrillic Mongolian has many consequences in the field of data exchange, automatic text processing, the building of library catalogues, etc. Some popular systems (e.g. the so-called Petersburg transliteration) use characters which are not readily available on today's computers, and the ones working with reduced character sets are sometimes not popular. Only in recent years (more or less starting with the UNESCO conference on the Computerization of Mongolian script in Ulaanbaatar in August 1992) there has been a genuine international effort to solve these problems and to come up with an encoding scheme that will be accepted world-wide. The Mongolian National Institute for Standardization and Metrology (MNISM), the Chinese National Standard Bureau, other standard bodies of other countries, ISO and UNICODE all have held regular meetings during the last years in order to define a standard. So far, no final agreement exists, and there is no software package which could serve as a demonstrator for this future standard. All available software either defines its own code page or relies on ASCII representations of Mongolian which are then converted into Mongolian writing. 7.2. language documents? Are there computer programs for processing Mongolian Yes, there are. Nota Bene: While the editor is happy to offer this information it must be mentioned as a caveat that in most cases the editor could neither verify the sources of these programs nor did he have a chance to review them. In addition, not all of the programs are direct competitors: some of them provide `pure' front-ends for printing systems, other focus on data models which make them useful for text processing, etc. The available programs can be roughly classified as follows: · Layout software for Classical Mongolian produced at Inner Mongolia University for MSDOS and UNIX platforms. Maybe this is the most complete package one can dream of since it supports everything from different writing styles (Ulaanbaatar vs. Inner Mongol typeface) to different alphabets (including Oirat, Phags-ba etc.) Availability: Yes, but with a high price tag in the four-digit USD range. · Windows Software by American and German producers. These are usually only font sets which are sold in combination with some exotic text processing software. Does not offer full support for correct conversion of text data, etc. · The "Sudar" package of the National University of Mongolia was written in 1991/2 by M. Erdenechimeg. This package runs on a DOS platform, can do both Classical and Modern Mongolian and has import utilities for a number of encodings. The author is developing a new package at the moment, the support for improvements of "Sudar" supposedly being discontinued. · "Cyrillic only" products for enhancing MSDOS platforms are available at little or no cost in Mongolia. These include printer drivers, screen fonts and keyboard mappers for the extended Cyrillic alphabet. Around three or four different encodings are known under the following program names: NCC, MOSLAST, SUNCHIR and MONKEGA. No commercial code converters available, no support for Classical Mongolian. · Research-type programs for MacIntosh machines, produced by the Université de Nanterre but never made publicly available. · One classical font is offered by Ecological Linguistics for Mac systems. · A commercial font package is available for extended Cyrillic by Linguist's Software for both the Mac and PC worlds. · Daniel Kai's XenoType Technologies' Inner and Outer Mongolian TrueType (and Postscript) fonts for the Mac (as well as Soyombo, Phagspa) in the computer systems for Classical Mongolian. This system gets good reviews. · MBE - Mongol Bichig Editor. Written in Taiwan and released in 1995, this editor for MSDOS system provides true vertical display and editing as well as 48-pixel and 96-pixel bitmap fonts for nice printing results. The awkward editing behaviour and the feature that everything between whitespace is regarded as one input and editing unit (one cannot delete a single letter, only a complete word!) make it a bit difficult to use. For documents in the pageno<10 range, like short letters etc. the system provides a simple interim solution until really powerful systems emerge. · MLS - Mongolian Language Support. Originally developed for IBM compatible PCs, now extended to the Unix world. Availability: free. See the MLS software section of Infosystem Mongolei. MLS is a MSDOS enhancement featuring support for both Classical and Cyrillic Mongolian. It offers conversion modules, a viewer for text with vertical lines and allows the continued use of (text mode) applications like dBASE, spreadsheets and text processing packages. Windows support is currently under development. Besides the MLS package itself there is the above-mentioned Mongolian text viewer (MVIEW) with on-line conversion from transliteration to Mongol script and a converter from Mongol text to graphics (MLS2PCX) which generates graphics files out of Mongolian language texts. The free packages do not yet contain printer support which is overly due and can be expected soon (says the author of MLS). It should be mentioned that the focus of MLS lies in processing Mongolian language data and providing Internet support rather than creating beautiful documents. 8. Mongolia - Suggested Readings 8.1. Which book do you recommend as a start? A dedicated document by Christopher Kaplonski - SROM - Suggested Readings on Mongolia - is available at Infosystem Mongolei. This document is occasionally updated and gets posted to the USENET newsgroup soc.culture.mongolian. A second document ( SROMDIC - Suggested Readings on Mongolia - Dictionaries ) by Christopher Kaplonski and Oliver Corff at the same location reveals information about commonly used dictionaries. -- Dr. Oliver Corff e-mail: corff@zedat.fu-berlin.de c/o Wuertz Wielandstr. 20 telephone: ++ 49 - 30 - 852 93 75 12159 Berlin GERMANY
Last-modified: June 1997