Ulaanbaatar literally "Red Hero is the capital and the largest city of Mongolia. A federal municipality and its population as of 2014 was over 1.3 million. Located in north central Mongolia, the city lies at an elevation of about 1,310 metres in a valley on the Tuul River. It is the cultural, industrial, and financial heart of the country. It is the centre of Mongolia's road network, and is connected by rail to both the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia and the Chinese railway system.
The forests of the mountains surrounding Ulaanbaatar are composed of evergreen pines, deciduous larches and birches while the riverine forest of the Tuul River is composed of broad-leaved, deciduous poplars, elms and willows. As a point of reference Ulaanbaatar lies on roughly the same latitude as Vienna, Munich and Orléans. Owing to its high elevation, its relatively high latitude, its location hundreds of kilometres from any coast, and the effects of the Siberian anticyclone, Ulaanbaatar is the coldest national capital in the world, with a monsoon-influenced, cold semi-arid climate and humid continental. The city features brief, warm summers and long, bitterly cold and dry winters. The coldest January temperatures, usually at the time just before sunrise, are between −36 and −40 °C with no wind, due to temperature inversion. Most of the annual precipitation of 267 millimetres falls from June to September.
The city was founded in 1639 as a nomadic Buddhist monastic centre. In 1778, it settled permanently at its present location, the junction of the Tuul and Selbe rivers. Before that, it changed location twenty-eight times, with each location being chosen ceremonially. In the twentieth century, Ulaanbaatar grew into a major manufacturing centre.
Ulaanbaatar has many tourist attractions which are Gandan monastery with the large Janraisig statue, the socialist monument complex at Zaisan with its great view over the city, the Bogd Khan's winter palace, Chinggis square and the nearby Choijin Lama monastery. Additionally, Ulaanbaatar houses numerous museums, two of the most well-known being the Museum of National History and the Museum of Natural History. Popular destinations for day trips are the Terelj national park, the Manzushir monastery ruins on the southern flank of Bogd Khan Uul, and a large equestrian statue of Genghis Khan erected in 2006. Important shopping districts include the 3rd Microdistrict Boulevard, Peace Avenue around the State Department Store and the Narantuul "Black Market" area. Ulaanbaatar presently has three large cinemas, one modern ski resort, two large indoor stadiums, several large department stores and one large amusement park. Food, entertainment and recreation venues are steadily increasing in variety. KFC, Round Table Pizza, Cinnabon, Louis Vuitton, Ramada, Kempinski and Shangri-La have opened up
Top 10 attractions
• Chinggis khan square
• Bogd Khaan Palace museum
• Narantuul black market
• Zaisan memorials
• Manzushir monastery
• Gandan monastery
• State Deparment Store
• Beatles monument
• Gorkhi Terelj National Park
• Chinggis Khaan complex