It’s day five of our trip to Mongolia. Yesterday, we checked into Alungoo Ger, a beautiful Ger camp, and had a great time. The following day, after breakfast, our coach brought us to Chinggis Khan Statue Complex, which took us over half an hour to reach. It’s located on the roadway connecting Nalaikh and Erdene at a spot known as Tsonjin Boldog.
Chinggis Khan Statue Complex
We could see the massive Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue in the distance as we approached the main building.
The entrance fee for the Chinggis Khan Statue Complex is as follows: Adults: 20,000MNT, Children: 3500 MNT.
Once inside, we were welcomed by modern sculptures and the famous giant boot.
We took photos before the 9-meter-high Mongolian boot, known as “gutal,” a significant symbol of Mongolian culture and history.
The museum
To enter the museum, we descended one floor using the stairs on the right side. Inside, we explored archaeological findings from the Bronze Age and viewed artifacts related to the Xionglu Empire.
There is an image of Under Gongor in the museum. He was a man in early 20th century Mongolia who suffered from gigantism disease. He was measured 2.45 meters (8 ft).
The equestrian statue of Genghis Khan
The highlight of the visit was getting a close-up photo of Chinggis Khan’s statue at the head of the horse. Despite the availability of a lift, I chose to climb several flights of stairs due to the large number of visitors. Even the narrow staircase was crowded with people.
At the top, a few more stairs led to a viewing platform offering an excellent view of Chinggis Khan’s Statue and the surrounding area. It provides a wonderful vantage point for capturing panoramic photographs.
The statue shows Chinggis Khan with a golden whip, representing the important event that predicted his rise to power and the founding of the Mongol Empire. In Mongolian culture, the whip is a significant tool for herding, riding, and discipline. Temüjin’s discovery of this whip was a crucial moment that influenced Mongolian history.
If you position yourself to face away from the Chinggis Khan statue and then look to the direction of two o’clock, you will see the statue of Chinggis Khan’s mother gazing back toward her son.
We only stayed for a few minutes at the horsehead because too many people were trying to take photos, and the space was limited. So, we decided to visit the souvenir shop on the same floor. (This complex has two souvenir shops; one is on the ground floor, and the other is on the top floor.) The shop had various items, from traditional Mongolian crafts to modern souvenirs.
Since there were still many visitors, I descended back down. Then, I returned to the ground floor, exited the complex, and admired the entire structure from the outside.
It’s the world’s largest equestrian statue of Genghis Khan. The 40-meter (130 ft) tall statue, made of 250 tonnes of stainless steel, was erected in 2008 to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the Mongol Empire. Sculptor D. Erdenebileg and architect J. Enkhjargal created and built the sculpture. It stands on a 10-meter-high base surrounded by 36 columns representing the 36 kings of Mongolia, from Genghis Khan to Ligden Khan.
I returned to our coach before leaving the complex., There are some smaller statues on top of the entrance. Our guide told us that these are the statues of the nine generals of Chinggis Khan.
🎞️ Watch the video shot during our trip
Please watch the video we made for our trip on YouTube. As below:
We have published a series of articles about Mongolia. To check them out, just click on this link.
Our tour is organized by Go Holiday 360 Sdn Bhd. You can contact them by visiting their website.