Zamyn-Üüd

Zamiin-Üüd is a small town in the Dornogovi province of Mongolia. It's also often spelt as Zamyn-Üüd.

Understand
It's the town on the Mongolian side of the sole border crossing into China open to foreigners. You will pass through when travelling between Beijing and Ulaanbaatar as described in Mongolia. The town on the Chinese side of the border is Erlian.

Get in
A paved road was finished from Sainshand to Zamiin-Uud in 2013, completing a paved road from the Chinese border to the Russian border at Suhbaatar through Ulaanbaatar. From China, you can cross the border from Erlian as described in Erlian.

To China, instructions are pretty much identical to the above, with the following amendments:
 * By bus - the bus leaves from in front of the train station
 * By jeep - the jeep trip from Zamiin-Uud to Erlian costs ¥50-80 (Chinese yuan)

By bus
The daily buses to Ulaanbaatar depart at 1000 and 1300 and arrive at Tenger Plaza in Ulaanbaatar about 10 hours later. There are daily buses to Erlian, too.

By train
To Ulaanbaatar your best option is by train. Trains leave Zamiin-Uud for Ulaanbaatar on at least a daily basis, as of May 2023 at 18:05 and arrive at 09:20. Train tickets are sold on the top floor black glass building to the left of the main train station building as you face it. Left luggage is in the basement of this building.

Getting tickets on the same day can be an issue - later on in the day often only soft sleeper and hard seat are available. At busy times (for instance around the Nadaam) and on days when only one train to Ulaanbaatar runs sometimes soft sleeper sells out as well. It's best to cross the border as early as possible to ensure a bed. If you speak Mongolian, you could also try contacting Anda Tour below who can reserve tickets for you.

It costs 25,600 ₮ (May 2018) for hard sleeper and 40,000 ₮ (April 2011) for soft sleeper to UB and takes 15 hours for the slow train at 18:05.

Below is the timetable for trains leaving Zamiin-Uud as of May, 2018):

Eat
There are several restaurants on the square in front of the train station.

Drink
The beautiful "yellow shop" to the left of the station sells ice-cold beer.

Sleep
There is one hotel beside the train platform and four others on or near the square in front of the train station including

Cope
There are a currency exchange and several telecom shops in the train station. As with most places in Mongolia, expect only Mongolian, and possibly Russian, to be spoken.

Go next
Zamiin-Uud is a dusty border town. Probably best to take the train or shared taxi to Sainshand, the provincial capital. From there, it is easier to explore the Gobi Desert.


 * Erlian, China: there are buses and jeeps to Erlian. The border opens around 08:30. From Erlian there are buses and trains to other locations in China.