I would like to express my warmest felicities to you on the 800th anniversary of the founding of Kharakhorum, the capital city of the Mongol Empire, which was also considered to be the center of the world in the 13th century Mongolians left an imprint on the history of the world through the city of Kharakhorum (Qaraqorum), a unique historical and cultural heritage Thus, Kharakhorum is a symbol of independence, unity, and national pride of Mongolians today The professors and students of the National University of Mongolia have created a virtual Kharakhorum using modern technology. I would like to invite Dr.Enkhbayar, a professor at the National University of Mongolia, the initiator and head of the project to build a virtual city of Kharakhorum. Greetings, I would like to congratulate everyone on the 800th anniversary of the founding of Kharakhorum (Qaraqorum), the capital of the Mongol Empire. As you know, many new technologies are emerging and introduced into our lives in the era of accelerated advancement of science and technology. With these new technologies, you can educate yourself by experiencing the past, the present, and going to new places, even to another planet. A talented team of young people, in collaboration with the scholars and researchers, have built the city of Kharakhorum (Qaraqorum) in a virtual environment, as it was 800 years ago within a year and now ready to introduce you to its history and culture. Now, the younger generation of Mongolia will be capable of learning at a higher level about Mongolian history with the help of this technologically advanced method. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the team members for completing this appreciable work of building the Kharakhorum in a virtual environment, the Mongolian Foundation of Science and Technology and Rio Tinto Mongolia for funding the project and other partner organizations. Now, let us take a tour of the virtual city of Kharakhorum (Qaraqorum). In 1220, Genghis Khan ordered the relocation of the Mongol Empire’s capital city from a basin of three rivers to the Orkhon River Valley. Since then Ögedei Khan urged the best craftsmen and artisans worldwide to construct the city of Kharakhorum (Qaraqorum). There is not sufficient historical fact that Mongols had a settled civilization beside their world-renowned nomadic way of life. But the city of Kharakhorum (Qaraqorum) tells us otherwise, as it is the most significant historical evidence that Mongolians once had a settled civilization. It was a busy city with nobles, scholars from many cultures with different languages, gathered in Kharakhorum to test their knowledge and skills. At the same time traders brought goods from all over the world, craftsmen competing with each other for their craftsmanship and envoys of the Khan traveled to every direction through the stations to manage world affairs. Hence, it is reasonable to call the city of Kharakhorum (Qaraqorum), the capital of the world. There were markets for livestock and dairy products at the four gates of Kharakhorum (Qaraqorum), providing thousands of residents with groceries. The craftsmen district is also visible in that area. At this intersection, the city is divided into four quarters You can see the Great Khan's Palace in the South and the Mongol Ger District in the Northwest. On the other hand, the Saracens Quarter is located in the Northeast, where various religious buildings, temples, churches, and mosques were located. Now, let us go to the crossroad intersection of Kharakhorum (Qaraqorum), which gained an urban city’s appearance during the Ögedei Khan’s reign. I am confident there isn't anyone my age who hasn't traveled back to the 13th century to see the city of Kharakhorum in their imagination. Now, I am at the intersection of the main streets of Kharakhorum (Qaraqorum). The Saracens Quarter and Catalans Quarter were trade districts of the city. This trading district’s uniqueness was that people of diverse religious backgrounds lived together, ran businesses, and practiced their religions in the 13th century, which is considered incredibly unique and unbelievable in Western Europe, Arab World, and Islamic World from where those diverse religions originated The fact that there weren't any conflicts or wars between people of diverse religious backgrounds was one of the main results of the Pax Mongolica (Mongol Peace) policy inherited from the Great Khans at that time, particularly from Chinggis Khan to Ögedei Khan. The first person to describe this in Europe was the famous Italian merchant and explorer Marco Polo As you know, it was mentioned in historical literature that no one believed in his talk, and he was once accused of being a liar of the century The Saracens Quarter was generally for Islamic community settlement, whereas the Catalans Quarter was inhabited by the Khitans and Zurchens, which plied their trade on their way. According to some sources, there were many merchants of wooden handicrafts, particularly in the Catalans Quarter. However, textile items were traded more in the Saracens Quarter In general, if you look from the trade quarters to Saracen Quarter, you can understand how foreign trade policy and Pax Mongolica (Mongol Peace) of the Mongol Empire was implemented in Kharakhorum city at the time. Well, let us move on to the Mongol Quarter, one of the main quarters of Kharakhorum city The Mongol Quarter provided the city with mainly dairy and meat products. According to some researchers, the city was densely populated at that time and the Mongol quarters (possibly current “ger” district) around the Kharakhorum, which were common, provided the city with food and other services. There are some reports about those specialties written by foreign tourists visiting the city of Kharakhorum, along with missionaries from the Golden Horde and Song Dynasty. Furthermore, the Mongols did not only inhabit the city of Kharakhorum but also engaged intensively in the production process. It is pleasant to learn that the latest archaeological findings provided evidence that Mongols played vital roles in making various ceramics, burning bricks, or doing equipment molds for the city of Kharakhorum construction. The structure behind me is the Great Tsogt Temple, the tallest building in Kharakhorum. The Great Tsogt Temple was a five-stored structure measuring 38x38 square meters, 300 feet or 90 meters high and its remains are visible from space photography. The Mongolia-Soviet scholars assumed that the remains of the temple were the Great khan’s palace in 1940, which lasted for 60 years. However, current scholars have reached to a conclusion that it was a Buddhist temple that was built to symbolize the rise of the Great Mongol Empire and not the remains of the royal palace. It can be seen that there was a profound influence of Buddhism, and there were twelve Buddhist temples, two Christian churches, and one Islamic mosque in Kharakhorum at that time. Here is a pivotal monument representing the Kharakhorum, the ancient capital city of Mongolia. This stone turtle is located right behind the Erdenezuu Monastery in Kharkhorin soum. Nowadays, everyone knows about the stone turtle originally had a stone steal mounted vertically on its back, which was inscribed with the writing both in Mongolian and Nangiad languages in 1346 by the order of Toghon Temür Khan of the Yuan Dynasty. According to the inscription, Kharakhorum was established as the capital city of the Mongol Empire in the 15th year of Genghis Khan’s reign, the Year of White Dragon (1220), declaring official evidence of the 800th anniversary of the establishment of the Kharakhorum, the ancient capital of Mongolia marked in 2020. Furthermore, this inscription stated that a great palace was built during the reign of Ögedei Khan, and then in 1256, during the reign of Möngke Khan, a huge Buddhist temple, which was five stories high and 300 meters tall, was built. And there was no other captivating building like this temple during that period. It was an exceptional temple throughout the Mongol Empire that the Mongol Khans paid special attention to the maintenance of the deteriorated temple and made major renovations twice with the state treasury. The historical and archeological evidence indicates that the Great Tsogt Temple was a Buddhist temple, one of the buildings of Kharakhorum at that time. Now, let us have a close look at its architectural features. The Great Tsogt Temple was the tallest structure in Kharakhorum, and its foundation was first laid during the Ögedei Khan’s reign but built during the Möngke Khan’s reign. A statue was erected under the name “Pavillion of Rise of the Yuan Dynasty" as per the decree of Toghon Temür Khan after renovating and restructuring the temple throughout four years between 1342 to 1346 The monument’s inscribed writing says that the Great Tsogt Temple was a five-story and 300-feet-tall majestic building. So, 300 feet tall varies from country to country since "feet" meant different sizes. For instance, 1 foot was 29.6 cm in Tang Dynasty, was 31.6 cm in the 11th and 12th century, whereas 32 cm during the Toghon Temür Khan’s reign. Finally, as we know, the standard size of 33 cm (1 foot) was set during the Qing Dynasty and remained unchanged ever since. Therefore, the temple was 94.8m tall if calculated by the feet measurement in the 11th and 12th centuries. The temple had its foundation, and the middle part was considerably tall if the platform and upper roof decoration were 2m high, respectively. It can be concluded that the tallest building was the Great Tsogt Temple at that time, and it had 64 pillars, and the steps between pillars differed from 4.2-4.6 and 6.2-6.4. The main part of the temple was a 36.7x37.7 square rectangular structure with 70 pillars, including the pillars of the front entrance, such rectangular structure is convenient construction for religious and Buddhist temples space-wise. The sources indicate 3-4m big sculptures of Buddhist gods since the first floor had a ceiling as high as the second floor The pillars were arranged by sets of four in four rows which makes the structure special according to what is known of the structure. An example of such a four-and-four arrangement can be seen from the Temple of Sacred Ashes, which originated from the Buddhist mandala. The structures of the Buddhist temples and buildings were planned and built based on Buddhist mandalas. On the other hand, the roof was green-tiled and ceramic. During the renovations between 1342 to 1346, the fifth floor roof was gilded, which was popular in the Buddhist temples until the 19th century. The other floors had green-tilted roofs, which were widely used during the Great Mongol Empire and the Yuan Dynasty. Marco Polo noted that the city’s buildings had various colored roofs, including red, green, blue... The Great Tsogt Temple had gates on three sides. The main entrance had a distinctive porch. In general, the Great Tsogt Temple had been built in a traditional way, as the main gate facing the south-east. Except for the main gate, there weren't any other porches. The temple had been built on a 42.5x61.9m platform, longer at the front including the main entrance porch. There was the turtle monument in the front area of the temple’s main entrance. The golden-roofed structure seen there is the “Tumen Amgalant Ord” (Palace of Myriad Peace), and it was another miracle created by the Mongol Khans. This palace, located within the walls of Kharakhorum city, had double walls and gates on four sides. The palace's foundation was built on the 2-meter high artificial plateau, which indicated how much the Mongols worshiped their Khans. The Great Khans of the Mongol Empire passed laws and issued decrees, governed the affairs of the world together with his scholars and ministers in this palace, that laws and regulations were abided strictly by the citizens of conquered countries. There was the palace of great khans at the center of the walls, two slightly lower height buildings on both sides of the palace and an artificial lake with a canopy at the front where khans and queens relaxed. The front of the palace had a high staircase, the main entrance, the walls and pillars of the palace were beautifully decorated and patterned. One of the most beautiful buildings in Kharakhorum, Mongol Empire’s capital , is undoubtedly the “Tumen Amgalant Ord'' (The Palace of Myriad Peace) of Ögedei Khan. Although no ruins of the palace have been found yet, the records of Rubruck and Juvaini, provided evidence of the Khan’s palace's majestic descriptions. The royal palace had a distinctive design which was slightly different from other buildings in Kharakhorum as it had an Mongolian identity. To describe the royal palace depends on the understanding of the designs and characteristics of Mongol buildings. Although, there were Christian, Islamic, and Buddhist temples in Kharakhorum, the royal palace was built in a Mongol-minded design. There are no ruins or foundations of this building, but the shreds of evidence of that time and the recorded notes written by Juvaini or Rubruck are present. The creation of the Tumen Amgalant Ord (Palace) in a virtual environment is based on evidence, research of generations of scholars, teachers, and the great works of artists. The Tumen Amgalant Palace was an extravagant palace with many columns, a green tiled floor, many luxurious large rooms, engraved walls and ceilings, and ornaments of animals such as dragons, lions, and leopards. Moreover, approximately 4 meters high giant Silver Tree was present, designed by French sculptor Guillaume Bouchier under the order of Möngke Khan which was considered one of the main highlighted magnificent works of art in this palace. On top of the tree was an angel with a trumpet, and a pipe extended from the angel’s mouth, when the trumpet was blown, various beverages simultaneously dispensed from the four golden spouts shaped like snake’s heads to serve the great khan’s guests. In 1252, a missionary named William of Rubruck was sent to the Great Mongol Empire by the order of King Louis IX of France. In December 1253, Rubruck arrived in Kharakhorum, the Great Mongol Empire's capital, had an audience with Möngke Khan, and delivered a letter from King Louis IX. William of Rubruck, who visited the Great Mongol Empire under the order of King Louis IX of France, described the silver tree inside the royal palace in significant detail. with great help of his notes, we created this silver tree in a virtual environment. Juvaini wrote about this khan’s palace in his book "Genghis Khan - The History of the World Conqueror". He wrote “A large garden with four gates for the great khan was built near the city. The first gate was for the great khan who ruled the world, and the second gate was for the khan’s descendants and siblings, the third gate was for the queens and women, the fourth gate was for the city inhabitants. In the middle of the garden, a palace was built within the same entrance gate as the garden, which had 3 thrones. The middle throne was occupied by the great khan, as his queens took the other thrones. The servants of the palace sat behind the thrones. Juvaini noted that the palaces with ornaments and decorations for great khan's brothers, sons, and guards were located on the right and the left side of the great khan's palace. The palace’s interior design and the 3D model of the silver tree were created based on the modern archeological findings and Juvaini’s book saying “The city was built like a city-palace with a wall and gates on the four sides”. Thank you for traveling with us to the capital city of the Great Mongolian Empire, Kharakhorum. VR technology allows us endless opportunities to preserve our history and culture. In the future, we will create virtual environments for Luut (Luncheng), the capital of the Khunnu Empire (Xiongnu Empire), the first state of the Mongol Empire, a city of the Uyghur Empire and Kharbalgas, the Pre-Revolutionary Capital city Khuree, and the capital city of 1960-70. With these virtual creations, we encourage you to preserve our history and culture by using technological advances.