Улаанбаатар
Open-Air Museum to Be Established on the Ruins of Old City of Kharakhorum
Art & Culture
Ulaanbaatar, June 16, 2025 /MONTSAME/. The construction of Kharkhorum City was officially launched on June 15, 2025, according to the Presidential Decree on Rebuilding Kharkhorum City in the Orkhon Valley, a World Heritage site.
As part of this major urban development, in the first
place, the Great Tsogt Temple is planned to be restored and an open-air museum will
be established on the ruins of the old city of Kharakhorum, established by
Chinggis Khaan.
Director of the “Chinggis Khaan” National Museum and Academician Dr. Chuluun Sampildondov remarked, “Nowadays, people
often confuse the ruins of the old Kharkhorum city with Erdene Zuu. However, a
900-meter-long wall used to surround the city of Kharkhorum, and the royal palace
was located beneath what is now the Erdene Zuu Monastery. Kharkhorum was one of
the first cities in the world where multiple religions, including Buddhism,
Islam, and Christianity, coexisted. It was a city of peace and unity, where
around 1,500 artisans from across the world gathered to showcase and test their
skills. The decisions made in Kharkhorum were in effect over the vast
territories of Eurasia, marking it as a powerful city. Mongolian and German
archaeologists have jointly conducted excavations at the site, but only less
than 10 percent of the city has been explored. Therefore, there is a great
opportunity to deploy a large-scale national expedition. Based on this, we aim
to establish an open-air museum that fully presents the old city of
Kharkhorum.”
The “Chinggis Khaan” National Museum, professional
institutes under the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, and the Council of Scholars
have agreed to conduct joint scientific research.
In connection with the city-building initiative, 189,000
hectares of land in the Orkhon Valley, located in the territories of
Uvurkhangai and Arkhangai provinces, have been designated as state special-use
land.
