Sainshand

Sainshand is the capital of Dornogovi province. It is 463 km from Ulaanbaatar city.

Understand
This small city in the Govi is planned to become a major industrial site with mineral processing and a hub between the Tran-Mongolian railway and a new east-west cross-Govi railway connecting major mines with eastern Siberia.

Get in
As it is a station on the main train-line of the Trans-Mongolian line of the Trans-Siberian Railway from Beijing via the Zamiin-Uud/Erlian border crossing to Ulaanbaatar, there is little public transport otherwise. A paved road was completed in 2013 connecting Sainshand and Zamiin-Uud to Ulaanbaatar via Choir. There are buses to and from Ulaanbaatar.

By train
Trains departing from Sainshand go either south to Zamiin-Uud or north to Ulaanbaatar. There are 2 daily trains to and from UB, plus express trains on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday with fewer stops. There is a daily train to and from Zamiin-Uud. Local trains stop at every town and city along the way and can have over 20 stops between Zamiin-Uud and Ulaanbaatar.

Do
You can visit the Hamriin Hiid Monastery about 50 km south of the town (about 40,000 ₮ per car). The drive through the desert is less than 1 hour. The monastery itself is not much more than a collection of stupas, but it's in a beautiful desert location and it's an important place for Tibetan Buddhists and locals come here to absorb "Enerji". For those who like Feng Shui or Zen Buddhism, it is the best place for cleansing and performing the appropriate rituals along with the locals.

Sleep
There are hotels near the train station and near the government building.