Ulan-Bator is the capital and by far the largest city of Mongolia. An independent municipality, the city is not part of any province. The population is about 1,3 million people.
Located in north central Mongolia, the city lies at an elevation of about 1,310 metres (4,300 ft) in a valley on the Tuul River. It is the cultural, industrial, and financial heart of the country. It is the centre of Mongolia's road network, and is connected by rail to both the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia and the Chinese railway system.
The city was founded in 1639 as a movable (nomadic) Buddhist monastic centre. In 1778 it settled permanently at its present location, the junction of the Tuul and Selbe rivers. Before that it changed location twenty-eight times, with each location being chosen ceremonially. In the twentieth century, Ulan Bator grew into a major manufacturing centre.
When the city became the capital of the new Mongolian People's Republic in 1924, its name was changed to Ulan Bator.
The main manufactures of the city are: edible raw material factory, meat factory, steel, metal, wood and feed industry.
