Governed as an independent municipality, Ulaanbaatar is surrounded by Töv Province, whose capital Zuunmod lies 43 kilometres (27 mi) south of the city.

Upon independence in 1911, with both the secular government and the Bogd Khan's palace present, the city's name was changed to Niĭslel Khüree (Mongolian: ᠨᠡᠶᠢᠰᠯᠡᠯ ᠬᠦᠷᠢᠶᠡᠨ; Нийслэл Хүрээ, lit.

Wang Khan, Toghrul of the Keraites, a Nestorian Christian monarch whom Marco Polo identified as the legendary Prester John, is said to have had his palace here (the Black Forest of the Tuul River) and forbade hunting in the holy mountain Bogd Uul.

[citation needed] In 1778, the city moved from Khui Mandal and settled for good at its current location, near the confluence of the Selbe and Tuul rivers, and beneath Bogd Khan Uul, at that time also on the caravan route from Beijing to Kyakhta.

In 1758, the Qianlong Emperor appointed the Khalkha Vice General Sanzaidorj as the first Mongol amban of Urga, with full authority to "oversee the Khuree and administer well all the Khutugtu's subjects".

[citation needed] In 1839, the 5th Bogd Jebtsundamba moved his residence to Gandan Hill, an elevated position to the west of the Baruun Damnuurchin markets.

[16] In 1910, the amban Sando went to quell a major fight between Gandan lamas and Chinese traders started by an incident at the Da Yi Yu shop in the Baruun Damnuurchin market district.

In 1911, with the Qing dynasty in China headed for total collapse, Mongolian leaders in Ikh Khüree for Naadam met in secret on Mount Bogd Khan Uul and resolved to end 220 years of Manchu control of their country.

Baron Ungern's capture of Urga was followed by the clearing out of Mongolia's small gangs of demoralized Chinese soldiers and, at the same time, looting and murder of foreigners, including a vicious pogrom that killed off the Jewish community.

[20] However, at the same time that Baron Ungern was taking control of Urga, a Soviet-supported Communist Mongolian force led by Damdin Sükhbaatar was forming in Russia, and in March they crossed the border.

On the session of the 1st Great People's Khuraldaan of Mongolia in 1924, a majority of delegates had expressed their wish to change the capital city's name to Baatar Khot (lit.

The provisional government announced Mongolia's first free elections, which were held in July 1990, paving the way for the new constitution of 1992 and the dissolution of the Mongolian People's Republic.

Much of this rapid population rise is attributed to migration from rural areas, as herder families abandon their traditional lifestyles in search of opportunities in the city.

This rise in population, including the formation of new settlement areas, has not been accompanied with appropriate investment in infrastructure and services,[27] hampering development and causing a myriad of problems.

[38] Ulaanbaatar is located at about 1,350 metres (4,430 ft) above mean sea level, slightly east of the center of Mongolia, on the Tuul River, a sub-tributary of the Selenge, in a valley at the foot of Bogd Khan Mountain.

Traditionally, Ulaanbaatar is said to be surrounded by four peaks, clockwise from west: Songino Khairkhan, Chingeltei, Bayanzurkh, and finally Bogd Khan Mountain.

To the north is the Government Palace, while Peace Avenue (Enkh Taivny Urgon Chuloo), the main thoroughfare through town, runs along the south side of the square.

[47] Major landmarks include the Gandantegchinlen Monastery,[48] the socialist monument complex at Zaisan Memorial with its views over the city, the Bogd Khan's Winter Palace, and the Choijin Lama Temple.

[64] The city is divided into nine districts (Mongolian: дүүрэг, romanized: Düüreg): Baganuur, Bagakhangai, Bayangol, Bayanzürkh, Chingeltei, Khan Uul, Nalaikh, Songino Khairkhan and Sükhbaatar.

The official emblem of Ulaanbaatar is the garuḍa, a mythical bird in both Buddhist and Hindu scriptures, referred to as the Khangar'd (Mongolian: Хангарьд, lit.

[citation needed] It stood in one location (Khoshoo Tsaidam) from 1640 to 1654, an unusually long period of 15 years, before Zanabazar moved it east to the foot of Mount Saridag in the Khentii Mountains.

Urga stayed at Mount Saridag for a full 35 years and was indeed assumed to be permanent there when Oirats suddenly invaded the region in 1688 and burnt down the city.

The Mongolian Military Museum features two permanent exhibition halls, commemorating the war history of the country from prehistoric times to the modern era.

The Memorial Museum of Victims of Political Repression – dedicated to those fallen under the Communist purge that took the lives of over 32,000 statesmen, herders, scholars, politicians and lamas in the 1930s – told about one of the most tragic periods in Mongolia's 20th-century history.

[97][98] There is a Speaking Library at School #116 for the visually impaired, funded by the Zorig Foundation, and the collection is largely based on materials donated by Mongolian National Radio.

Other venues include the multi-purpose Buyant Ukhaa Sport Palace, AIC Steppe Arena for indoor skating, and Bökhiin Örgöö for Mongolian wrestling.

Ulaanbaatar is served by Chinggis Khaan International Airport, located 52 km (32 mi) south of the city in Sergelen, Töv, which functions as the country's main air hub.

In 2019, the government banned the burning of raw coal within Ulaanbaatar, instead distributing coke briquettes, claiming fuel efficiency and less smoke pollution.

[119] Sources of the pollution are mainly the simple stoves used for heating and cooking in the city's ger districts, but also the local coal-fueled power plants.

The problem is compounded by Ulaanbaatar's location in a valley between relatively high mountains, which shield the city from the winter winds and thus obstruct air circulation.