Darkhan (city)

Darkhan Дархан ᠳᠠᠷᠬᠠᠨ
District
Darkhan District Дархан сум ᠳᠠᠷᠬᠠᠨᠰᠤᠮᠤ
Buddha Statue complex
Darkhan
Coordinates: 49°28′08″N 105°57′27″E / 49.46889°N 105.95750°E / 49.46889; 105.95750Coordinates: 49°28′08″N 105°57′27″E / 49.46889°N 105.95750°E / 49.46889; 105.95750
Country	Mongolia
Province	Darkhan-Uul Province
Founded	October 1961
Elevation	665 m (2,182 ft)
Population (2010)
• Urban	180,738
Time zone	UTC + 8 (UTC+8)
Postal code	213800
Area code(s)	+976 (0)137
Vehicle registration	ДАx (x variable)
Climate	Dwb

Darkhan (Mongolian: Дархан, blacksmith) is the second largest city in Mongolia and the capital of Darkhan-Uul Aimag (Darkhan-Uul Province). It has a population of 180,738 in 2010.

On October 17, 1961, the city of Darkhan was built with extensive economic assistance from the Soviet Union. As its name implies, the city was originally conceived to be a manufacturing site for Mongolia's northern territory. The city remains a mostly industrial region and is the home of some 82% of Darkhan-Uul Province's population. As with most urban Mongols, some 86% of the city's population live in residential apartments, with the remaining population living in yurts (gers) on the outskirts of the city.

Darkhan has a borderline humid continental climate (Dwb), close to the more typical subarctic climate (Dwc) of northern Mongolia, which is found in higher areas near the city, and only marginally wet enough to avoid qualifying as a semi-arid climate (BSk). These three climate types tend to overlap a good deal over the border regions of Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan. This area has extremely cold and dry winters; however the summers are warmer and more humid.

The Kharagiin monastery is housed in a pretty log cabin in the old town; it has recently become active again as a Buddhist monastery.

In addition, the city hosts the Museum of Darkhan-Uul. This museum, also called the Traditional Museum of Folk Art, contains a collection of archaeological findings, traditional clothing, religious artifacts, and taxidermy.

The city has a monument to the horse-head fiddle (morinkhuur), the national instrument of Mongolia.

Darkhan is the second largest educational center in Mongolia, making the educational level of the city's population very high. Hundreds of students come to Darkhan from other parts of Mongolia to study. Currently in Darkhan Uul Aimag there are 10 higher education institutions, 25 secondary schools, 14 kindergartens, the Institute of Management and Development, the Regional Business Development Center and the Plant Science and Agricultural Training Research Institute.