Mongolia's Urban Migration
Mongolia is experiencing a rapid change in its human geography. Half the country's population now lives in its capital city as increasingly harsh winters and limited economic prospects affect the country's traditional rural society.
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00:00Bat Arden Khulan has come a long way since her youth on the Mongolian steppe.
00:06In many ways, she is a success story for the country, having emerged from poverty to study
00:10in Europe and now pursuing a career in finance.
00:14I am a normal person.
00:16I don't have a lot of worries.
00:18I don't have a lot of worries.
00:20I don't have a lot of worries.
00:22I don't have a lot of worries.
00:24I don't have a lot of worries.
00:26I don't have a lot of worries.
00:28I don't have a lot of worries.
00:30I don't have a lot of worries.
00:32I don't have a lot of worries.
00:34I don't have a lot of worries.
00:36I don't have a lot of worries.
00:38Like many people in her country, she has moved to Mongolia's capital seeking a better life.
00:43Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital and only major city, is now home to nearly half of the nation's
00:503.4 million people.
00:52It's doubled in population in the past two decades and grows every year with more newcomers.
00:59As the country's economy grows and its government opens up, people are giving up lives of manual
01:05labor in the countryside to pursue education and career opportunities in the city.
01:23The city also offers respite from an ever-harsher environment on the steppe.
01:29Mongolia's winters have become colder and longer over the past two decades, with desertification
01:36and shorter summers threatening agriculture and livestock herding.
01:40But overturning thousands of years of traditional living has consequences, especially for those
01:47who stay on the steppe.
01:53I can't raise my kids.
01:55My children are in school.
01:57I can't wear knickers.
01:59I can't buy shoes or shoes.
02:01I can't take care of a family.
02:03I can't go to work.
02:07And seeing more people leave, this close-knit society has led to loneliness.
02:13I also thought I was going to die.
02:17But for those who've come from the steppe, adapting to life in Ulaanbaatar hasn't been
02:27easy either.
02:28The city's pollution, noise and traffic are all sources of anxiety.
02:35It's a challenge that's led some young people to find contentment in their rural lives.
02:41It's very hard to live in Ulaanbaatar.
02:48Our descendants are coming from the steppe, so we'll have to live here in Mongolia.
02:58Mongolia's future lies somewhere in the tension between its enduring steppe culture and new
03:03ways of life emerging in its urban core.
03:07And the country's young people will have to decide which life is right for them.
03:13James Lin, Bryn Thomas and Jonathan Kaplan for Taiwan Plus.