Choibalsan (Mongolian: ) is the fourth-largest city in Mongolia after Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan, and Erdenet. The name of the city was Bayan Tümen () until 1941, when it was renamed after the communist leader Khorloogiin Choibalsan in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Mongolian Revolution of 1921. It is the capital of the province of Dornod with the city's administrative unit named as Kherlen sum, enclosing an area of . It is situated at the Kherlen River, at an elevation of above sea level.
History
The location has been a post on a trading route for centuries. In the 19th century it grew into a city, and became the economic hub of eastern Mongolia in the twentieth century and is still serving as an active economic center for Eastern Mongolia.
Due to the city's proximity to the site of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, it contains a museum dedicated to Georgy Zhukov, hero of the battle.
Population The city of Choibalsan has a population of 45,490 (1994), 41,714 (2000), 36,142 (2003), 39,500 (2006),Dornod Aimag: Статистикийн мэдээлэл 2006 (Statistical information), 2007-01-16 39,500 (2007, 53.2% of the Dornod Aimag's total population), 38,150 (2008, 51.2% of the Aimag's population)Dornod Aimag Statistics Office.Dec. 2008 Report and 38,537 (2025).
Choibalsan is inhabited primarily by Halh Mongols, with smaller numbers of Buryats, Barga Mongols, and Üzemchin.
Climate Choibalsan experiences a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with frigid, very dry winters and warm, wetter summers. In terms of temperatures it resembles a humid continental climate (Dwb), but falls short of that classification due to the very dry winters. Extreme temperatures range from a minimum of on 1 January 1959 to a maximum of , recorded on 3 August 2016.
Infrastructure Choibalsan Thermal Power Plant
Tourist attractions Central Library of Dornod Province
Transportation The Choibalsan Airport (COQ/ZMCD) has one paved runway, and is served by regular flights to Ulaanbaatar, and Hailar and Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia, China.
There is a railway line (unconnected to the rest of the Mongolian rail network) that connects Choibalsan to the Trans-Siberian Railway (the original routing) in Borzya, Russia; although there are no passenger service across the border: passenger trains from Choibalsan terminate in Chuluunkhoroot (Ereentsav).Lonely Planet Mongolia: Choibalsan transport (archived version 18 Jan 2012)
References