Züünkharaa

Züünkharaa is a city in Selenge Province in northern Mongolia and the center of Mandal sum, the biggest district in the whole country. In 2022 its population was estimated at 25,105 people living in 7,103 households. In 1994 residents of Tünkhel and Züünkharaa voted in a plebiscite to unify their two districts, and the State Great Khural combined them, making Züünkharaa the center of Mandal. The city lies at the southern tip of Selenge just north of Töv Province, with the Kharaa river running through its southern half. It is 174 km from Ulaanbaatar and 201 km from the provincial capital Sükhbaatar, and the Trans-Mongolian Railway connects it to Ulaanbaatar and Darkhan. It has six kindergartens, one elementary school and six high schools, and since 1943 it has been home to the Spirit Bal Buram vodka factory.