Mongols - Settlements

The Mongols have always lived in a variety of dwellings: temporary grass shelters, the standard yurt ( ger ) with a wooden latticework frame covered with felt, a permanent dwelling made from adobe brick, and multistory apartment complexes. Because of the fierce north winds, dwellings face the southeast. Today, 51 percent of the MPR's Mongolian population lives in cities, whereas the majority of the IMAR Mongols are farmers. The largest city in the MPR is Ulaanbaatar (population over 500,000). A few other "large" cities with a population of more than 10,000 are Choibalsan, Darkhan, and Erdenet. In the IMAR the three largest cities are Baotou (more than 500,000), Huhhot (491,950), and Wuhai (under 40,000).