Ulan Ude





Saturday 5 August

Arrived in Suhe Baatar the Mongolian border Crossing and went through exit formalities then travelled 30 minutes across no man’s land and did passport formalities on board the train. We are in Russia - 5,900Km to Moscow.


We are now in a district of Russia known as Buryatia and travelled to Ulan Ude, a major center of the region. Ulan Ude is the junction of the main rail line (Trans-Siberian) from Vladivostok and the Trans Mongolian from Beijing. Major railway engineering was based here in 1920 in the early stages of the Russian revolution. The winter temperatures drop to minus 40 here so many people were out and about enjoying the summer heat. (30 degrees)





Ulan Ude was a surprisingly advanced town of only 400,000 people with many beautiful cultural halls and Russian orthodox churches. 50% of the locals are Buyrats, (who look Asian) and are proud of their cultural heritage and Buddhist faith. They also demonstrate pride in their national origins thought music, dance and art.



Beautiful stained Glass door in the concert hall


We went to the Drama Hall and saw a great display of Cossack and Buyrat dancing and singing very entertaining!





We walked through the town mall area and the mix of old buildings next to modern international brand outlets was most enlightening.

We passed the Opera & Ballet theatre, revamped in 2011.

Then we walked to the main square and viewed the ‘Lenin Head’. It is 7.7 m tall and weighs 42 tons.



The Russian Orthodox Church we visited was from the 16th century and built on two levels, the upper level being used only in summer since heating both levels in winter is not feasible. Tea merchants who travelled in caravans from China originally built it.

Location: Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, Russia

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