Ongiin Khiid

Ongiin Khiid stood on both banks of the Ongi River in the dry country of central Mongolia. Founded in 1660, it grew into one of Mongolia's great Buddhist establishments. The older southern monastery included temples and administrative buildings, while the northern Barlim monastery, built in the eighteenth century, added seventeen temples. Four Buddhist colleges formed part of the complex, which at its height housed more than a thousand monks.