The sights of Choibalsan

Arch Monument to a Russian-Mongolian victory over the Japanese

Choibalsan isn't a tourist destination by any means but we found several things of interest.

Painting of Choibalsan

Choibsalsan is the capital of Dornod Province located just 20 miles or so from the Chinese border. There are over 40,000 residents of Choibalsan.

Dornod Province - Choibalsan is where the roads meet

Choibalsan was named after a famous dictator and army general in Mongolia - known as the Stalin of Mongolia. 

Russian tank

Armored car

His history of brutality and persecution of enemies was horrific. He did preserve Mongolian independence from the Soviet Union and for that Mongolians have a mixed view of his legacy.

Queen of Mongolia

The church has had a lot of success here and the local branch has sent out over 60 missionaries since 2000.

Ceremonial stove

The city built a new square for exhibitions and events. We stumbled on to what seemed like a country fair on the weekend we visited.

Boys selling cabbages

Ready to ride?

Definitely not a US county fair

Usually camels aren;t this pretty

Kids having fun

Colorful jump "block"

We saw some other sites near our hotel.

A monument to a songwriter

A colorful school

Reflections

We also found the time to visit the Dornod Provincial Museum. Outside the museum were some monuments to the Russian and Mongolian soldiers who fought and won a decisive battle against the Japanese in 1939.

Tribute to the Mongolian Calvary in battle

Mongolia lost 237 calvarymen and Russian lost about 8,000 men. The Japanese losses were twice as great and they decided to forget about invading Russia or Mongolia and turned their attention to Southeast Asia and ultimately to Hawaii.

Ceremonial flags outside the museum

We saw one striking picture of an ethemeral woman with the caption, "My Mother Awaits my Return". Pretty close to Mormon doctrine of eternal families.