Darkhan (city) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Darkhan Дархан  (Mongolian) ᠳᠠᠷᠬᠠᠨ
District
Darkhan District Дархан сум ᠳᠠᠷᠬᠠᠨᠰᠤᠮᠤ
Buddha Statue complex
Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  Second capital
Darkhan Location in Mongolia
Country	Mongolia
Province	Darkhan-Uul Province
Founded	October 1961
Area
• Total	103 km2 (40 sq mi)
Elevation	665 m (2,182 ft)
Population  (2022)
• Total	87,696
• Density	851/km2 (2,205/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (UTC + 8)
Postal code	213800
Area code(s)	+976 (0)137
Vehicle registration	ДАx (x variable)
Climate	Dwb
Website	http://www.darkhan.mn/

Flag of Darkhan

Darkhan is the third-largest city in Mongolia. It is also the capital city of Darkhan-Uul Aimag, which is like a state or region in Mongolia.

Darkhan: Mongolia's Industrial City

Darkhan is a very important city for making things in Mongolia. It's known for its factories and industries.

How Darkhan Was Built

The city of Darkhan was started on October 17, 1961. It was built with a lot of help from a group of countries called Comecon. This group included countries like the Soviet Union, Poland, and Hungary.

Darkhan was planned to be a big manufacturing place for northern Mongolia. Specialists from Poland helped build factories for woodworking, bricks, and lime. Hungarians built a meat factory, which opened in 1974.

Today, Darkhan is still a major industrial center. Most of the people in Darkhan-Uul Province live here. About 86% of the city's people live in apartment buildings. Others live in traditional Mongolian tents called yurts (or gers) on the edges of the city.

Exploring Darkhan's Look

Darkhan is about 665 meters (2,182 feet) above sea level. It is the capital of the Darkhan-Uul Province. You can see a lot of Soviet influence in the city's design, like large square buildings. The Cyrillic alphabet is also used a lot.

The city is surrounded by mountains and hills. There are also some interesting places to visit, like statues that are mostly related to Buddhism. Some parts of Darkhan even have charming wooden houses.

Darkhan's Weather

Darkhan has a climate that is mostly a humid continental climate. This means it has very cold and dry winters. However, the summers are warmer and more humid. Sometimes, the climate can be close to a subarctic climate, which is found in higher areas nearby.

Culture and Traditions

Monument to the Morin khuur instrument

The Kharagiin monastery is a special place of worship located in an old log cabin in Darkhan. It has recently become active again as a Buddhist monastery, where monks live and practice their faith.

The city also has the Museum of Darkhan-Uul. This museum is sometimes called the Traditional Museum of Folk Art. It has many interesting items, such as old archaeological finds, traditional clothes, religious objects, and even taxidermy (stuffed animals).

You can also find a monument in the city dedicated to the horse-head fiddle, called the morin khuur. This instrument is a very important symbol of Mongolian culture.

Learning in Darkhan

Darkhan is the second-largest center for education in Mongolia. This means many people in the city have a high level of education. Students from all over Mongolia come to Darkhan to study.

Currently, Darkhan-Uul Aimag has 10 universities or colleges, 25 secondary schools, and 14 kindergartens. There are also special institutes for management, business development, and agricultural research.

Getting Around Darkhan

Darkhan has a railway station called Darkhan-1. This station helps people travel to and from the city by train.

Darkhan-1 railway station

Darkhan's Friends Around the World

Darkhan has special partnerships with several cities around the world. These "partner cities" work together on different projects and share ideas. Darkhan's partner cities include:

• Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria
• Irving, Texas, USA
• Kaposvár, Hungary
• Ulan Ude, Russia
• Zeitz, Germany