Danzanravjaa chose the site of the monastery believing the surrounding area radiated with a spiritual energy fostered by the Gobi desert.

To the north of the monastery lie a series of caves where monks would retreat and practice high levels of meditation for 108 continuous days (108 being a sacred number in Buddhism).

He supported the idea of public education and respect for women and he founded the monastery in the desert to serve as a model of a more enlightened society.

It was also home to Mongolia’s first ever professional public theater, the Namtar Duulakh Datsan (“story singing college”) which sponsored a touring company of some 300 artistes that performed throughout the Gobi region.

By the 1830s the Khamar Khiid included a school for children, the Khuukhdiin Datsan that provided a non-religious education in Mongolian and Tibetan literature, mathematics, natural science, and history.