Playtime Festival

These five temples and five arched gates are a unique showcase of religious art and the history of Buddhism in Mongolia, a gem of 20th century Mongolian cultural heritage, and a fine example of Buddhist architecture. The monastery was active until 1938, was inscribed in 1941 on the list of historical and cultural monuments, and became a museum the following year. In the main temple you'll find the sculpture of the Choijin Lama and the embalmed mummy of his teacher, as well as the great coral mask of Begtse, created under the direction of protectors using over 6,000 pieces of coral. Elsewhere in the complex, Yadam Temple and Amgalan Temple contain rare artifacts made by the famous Mongolian artist and sculptor, Zanabazar.

The main monastery in the city has services around 10:00 every morning. It is one of the few monasteries in the country that were spared during the Communist purges of the 1930s.

Built between 1893 and 1903 by Mongolian masters, this palace was dedicated to the VIII Bogd Gegeen, head of Tibetan Buddhism and Khan of Mongolia from 1911 until 1924 (the last three years of which were as a constitutional monarch). Upon his death, the palace became the first national historical museum of Mongolia. The museum contains twelve collections showcasing valuable objects and works of art from the 17th to early 20th centuries (notable among which are gilded bronze sculptures by the first Bogd Javzundamba Zanabazar and his school, 19th- and 20th century thangka paintings, a Jugder painting of Ulaanbaatar in 1912, and works by modern Mongolian painter B. Sharav), as well as personal possessions of the Khan and his wife, Queen Dondogdulam..

This modern museum covers the broad sweep of Mongolian imperial history from early tribal kingdoms up to the beginning of the era of domination by China. There are some English-language explanations, and QR codes for everything else.

This museum displays,manufactures and exports a wide variety of traditional Mongolian puzzle toys, logic games, handcrafted products, and souvenirs, and has launched over 80 international exhibitions and fairs in 50 countries.

The complete fossil of the Tarbosaurus bataar — a close cousin of the larger T. Rex that serves as the centerpiece of this museum's impressive collection — was stolen from Mongolia by American archaeologist Eric Prokopi and auctioned in New York for $1 million. The ensuing news coverage set off an international criminal case resulting in Prokopi's arrest and the return of dozens of dinosaur fossils to Mongolia by the U.S. government, which make up the bulk of this museum's collection. In the former Lenin Museum on Freedom Square, the museum contains a couple dozen other complete dinosaur fossils besides the Tarbosaurus, all of which were found in the Gobi Desert.