Tourism 

Mongolia, with her unique eco-system, vast territory, virgin lands, an rare animals, have long been a tourist attraction. Tourism is a relatively new sector that has been developing rapidly at recent. To promote Mongolia as a attractive tourism destination an provide information on tourism opportunities and resources of the country, Mongolian companies and firms actively participate in interna­tional tourism fairs and exhibitions, organized in Utrecht, Holland, Lon­don, England and Irkutsk, Russian Federation. Projects and programs such as, the Silk Road, Tea Road, aimed at identifying new tourism routes and establishment of a tour­ist network, are being considered. Within the Silk Road program his­toric routes of the Silk Road have been identified together with preparation of the introduction to historical and cultural sites, nature zones along the "Silk Road" and maps for selected areas. Number of tourists coming to Mongolia amounted to 42.4 thousand in 1998, In recent years, specific types of tourism, such as travel by horse, camel, water and on foot, have been especially popular. While travel by camel has promis­ing prospectivies in Gobi region, travel by horse or by horse and on foot, may be organized more fre­quently in Kharkhorin, Arkhangai, Khuvsgul, Bulgan, Khovd and Uvs aimags. Tourism marketing policy is a priority task for travel companies, which includes pro­grams and routes attractive to tourists. People from Asia and Europe account for 93 percent of the total number of tourists coming to Mongolia and the rest are tourists from America, Africa, Arab coun­tries and Australia. The largest por­tion of tourists come from China (40 percent), Japan (13 percent), and Russian Federation (10 percent).

The Government of Mongolia has approved the Master Plan on the Development of the tourism sector in Mongolia that took effect in 1998. The Plan formulates tourism marketing strategy and policy, regulates among others issues such as information database, strengthening of the management structure. New Law on tourism was approved by the State Great Hural in May 2000. 

Zanabazar Museum of Fine Art 

Zanabazar Museum of Fine Art was founded in 1966. Visitors can enjoy works of Mongolia’s famous artists, and sculptors who lived before or in the early 2Qd century. Sculptures by Mongolia’s first Bogda Khaan and famous sculptor Zanabazar (“Five Gods” and “Taras”), as well as appliques and sculptures in wood and stone by talented Mongolian craftsmen are among the 1 0 thousand exhibits of the museum. 25 of the 45 most precious works of art created by Mongolia’s artists can he found in the museum. 

The National Museum of Mongolian History. 

The National Museum of Mongolian History was founded in 1991. Exhibits of the museum show the history and culture of Mongols from ages as early as the Stone Age and up to the modern days. Among 15 thousand exhibits of the museum are carpet and silk items of the Hun period and leather boots of a Mongolian soldier of that time. 

The Museum of Natural History 

The museum was founded in 1924. Exhibits on Mongolia’s history, culture and economic development as well as natural wealth, are on display here. More than 6000 exhibits in the museum include dinosaur eggs and fossils, stuffed rare animals, household items of the Hun period and other valuable and rare archaeological and paleonthological finds. 

The Winter Palace of Bogda Khaan 

The Winter Palace of Bogda Khaan-one of the first museums in Mongolia - was built in 1924. It used to he a winter residence of the last Bogda Khaan of Mongolia Javzandamha. The palace compound was built between 1893 and 1903, and is well known for its Gate of Peace, Temple and personal library of Bogda Khaan. Among the museum’s exhibits are sculptures by Mongolia’s first Bogda Khaan Zanabazar, the famous Taras. The museum has 21 invaluable sculptures of Taras. 

The Choijin Lama Museum. 

The temple was built between 1904 and 1908 by the $1 Bogda Khaan Javzandamba, and dedicated to his brother Lama Luvsanhaidav. The Museum has a fine collection of woodcarving, applique, embroidery and sculptures, dated as early as the XVII century. 

Mongolian National Gallery 

Founded in 1989, the Gallery has an impressive collection of painting representing modern art and traditional Mongolian fine arts. More than 6000 exhibits of the Gallery include painting, sculptures; applique and embroidery made both in modern and classical Mongolian technique. 

The Theatre Museum 

The museum was founded in 1991 on International Day of Theatre. It is one of the vocational museums that show the development of theatre in Mongolia. Photographs and biographies of those who stood at the inception of theatre in Mongolia, historic documents, books and scripts are displayed for visitors. 

Traditions and Customs  Traditions and customs of Mongols have a wide range of common tra­ditional practices and religious rituals.

Ceremonies of the New Year Festival -Tsagaan Sar 

For Mongolians, the first holiday to celebrate the New Year is Tsagaan Sar. The New Year festi­val according to the lunar calen­dar is called Tsagaan Sar, meaning "White Moon". This is a big fam­ily celebration with various cer­emonies lasting three days. Tsagaan Sar customs are centuries old and it is the most widely cel­ebrated holiday. Tsagaan Sar nor­mally, falls on the first day of a spring month, when winter ends. This is January or February on the Gregorian calendar, depending on the phases of the moon, unless the leap year has been calculated dif­ferently. Celebration of the lunar New Year's eve is called 'bituun', and in the evening every family prepares a big meal and lots of fresh food to have a feast. A big wres­tling match is broadcasted live throughout the country. People ride their best horses during this holiday, prepare new clothes in ad­vance, and wear the most elegant ones. Homes are cleaned up thor­oughly on the eve. In the morn­ing of a New Year, a housewife of­fers the first cup of tea to gods in all directions. After the sunrise, people start to greet each other. While greeting they stretch their arms and the younger supports the elbow of the senior. The senior or elder people wish a long and happy life to the young. While exchanging snuffbottles in greeting, people usually talk about how they passed the winter. During the days of Tsagaan Sar Holiday, various ceremonies become inevitable such as visits to relatives, ex­change of gifts and lots of eating. Guests are welcomed warmly and are served with tea and food. In addition to food, hosts give a present to visitors and sweets to children. Mongolians attach a great significance to the first day of a New Year, therefore people exercise religious practices called "Khiymorio sergeekh" for good luck. In Tsagaan Sar people per­form an "Ovoo" ceremony to thank the god and nature. 

Naadam 

Naadam is one of the public holi­days and ceremonies of Mongolia. Mongols refer to their National Holiday as Naadam, or the Three Manly Games. The Three Manly Games include wrestling, archery and horse racing, which are the sports of wisdom, courage and strength. There are also other games and performances during these days. Naadam is celebrated on the 11th of July. Every year 512 wrestlers compete in the national Naadam and a wrestler who won the nine rounds becomes a ner. By the rules of Mongolian wrestling, a wrestler who lost in one round is dismissed. It is a great honor to wrestle in the national Naadam, and Mongolian wrestlers train hard during the year. The winner is called "turuu hukh" and "uzuur bukh" is the one who won the second place. Nachin (Falcon) title is given to a wrestler who won in 5 rounds; Zaan (Elephant) is a winner of 7 rounds. Arslan (Lion) is a title, bestowed to the winner of the first place in a national wres­tling match. A man who has been "Arslan" twice, is honored with the title of Avarga (Champion). In horseracing horses of six different ages groups participate beginning from 2 to 6. Six horse races are held separately, according to the age of horses. Racetracks vary ac­cording to the horses age: 6 miles (10 km.) for two-year-old colts, 17 miles (28 km.) for stallions. In some races, more than 700 horses take part. Young children, of ages 6 to 8 participate in the horserace. The 5 horses, to come first in a race, are called "Airagdakh", which -means that the horses are win treated with airag (fermented mare milk). 

National Holidays 

January 1 - New Year's Day
January 13 - Constitution Day
Around middle of February - New Year Festival - Tsagaan Sar
June 1 - Women and Children's Day
July 11, 12 - Mongolian National Holiday - Naadam
November 26 - Independence Day