Kyzyl, Tuva Republic, East Siberian economic region, Russia

🇷🇺 Kyzyl is the capital city of the republic of Tuva, Russia. The name of the city means "red" or "crimson" in Tuvan. The city was founded in 1914 as Belotsarsk (Белоцарск). In 1918, it was renamed Hem-Beldir (Хем-Белдир). In 1926 it was given its present name. When the city was the capital of Tannu Tuva, it was named Kizil Khoto. In September 2014, Kyzyl celebrated its 100th anniversary as a city.

The settlement was founded in 1914 by Russian settlers immediately after the entry of the then Uryanhai Territory under the protectorate of the Russian Empire called Belotsarsk.

Kyzyl claims to be located exactly in the geographical centre of Asia. Whether these coordinates are in fact the centre of Asia is disputed (e.g., Ürümqi in China makes a similar claim). However, there is a monument labelled "Center of Asia" in English, Russian, and Tuvan which asserts this claim. Tos-Bulak is the area of open fields and mineral springs which lies immediately south of Kyzyl.

Kyzyl stands at the point where the Yenisei River meets the Maly Yenisey River to form the Verkhny Yenisey (Улуг-Хем). Most development takes place south of the river and follows the curves of the river, with the highest development centred where the two headstreams of the Yenisei, the Bii-Khem (Russian: Большой Енисей), and the Kaa-Khem (Малый Енисей,), meet. A monument was built in 1964 on the river bank to mark this.

Economy: Industry Manufacturing plants include brickyards, sawmills, furniture manufacturing, and food-processing plants.

Transport: Road The federal highway M54 "Yenisei" connects Kyzyl with Abakan and Mongolia via Erzin.

Transport: Air The city is served by the Kyzyl Airport. The airport provides regular flights to Moscow, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, as well as to remote localities of the republic. The airport is included in the list of reference airports in Russia.

Transport: Rail There is a project of the Tuvan Railway with a railway terminal in Kyzyl. Kuragino–Kyzyl railway line is still being designed. The construction of the road started in 2011, but only 1 kilometre or 0.6 miles of track was built near Kyzyl.

Tourist Industry Sights include:

Sculpture complex Center of Asia The obelisk, symbolizing the centre of Asia, is located on the bank of the Yenisei River, in the city of Kyzyl of the Republic of Tuva. It was built three times — in 1964, 1984 and 2014. Today's monument is a whole sculptural ensemble. The new obelisk was built according to the project of the Buryat artist Dashi Namdakov. It is represented by an ensemble of three lions holding a globe topped with a spire. Externally, the monument is very similar to the previous obelisk. It depicts grandiose figures of oriental dragons and a high stele, the decor of which is made in the form of symbolic animals intertwined in a rush of ascent to the sky. In addition, people see twelve cosmogonic animalistic images that make up the Buddhist horoscope.

Ethnic and cultural complex of Aldyn-Bulak It occupies the coastal zone of the Yenisei, to Kyzyl-45 km. It is built as a kind of model of the universe, where the roles of stars and luminaries are assigned to yurts of different sizes and purposes. Although the yurts are decorated as authentic as possible, Aldyn-Bulak has all the amenities, including places to stay, a restaurant, a sauna, a parking lot.

Tsechenling Temple One of the most important Buddhist attractions of Kyzyl. Built in 1998, it consists of two floors: the first – as a residence, the second – for prayings. The corners of the building look more worn out, this is due to the tradition of walking around the temple in a circle and touching the corners. Classes on spiritual practices and languages are held inside, admission is free.

Buddhist Prayer wheel It was officially opened in 2006. It is considered the largest prayer wheel in Russia. It came from an Indian monastery, where the monks worked on the wheel for several years. Millions of scrolls with mantras are stacked inside.

Kadarchy Monument It was installed in 1997 in front of the Kyzyl airport. The monument is a shepherd with a staff in traditional Tuvan clothing. After the sculpture took its place on the hill, the locals considered that the hero did not have enough liverstock, so "sheep" were placed nearby in the form of boulders painted white.

Mineral spring “Bobry” It is located 2 km or 1.2 miles from Kyzyl. The name is translated as "beavers": according to legend, people learned about the spring from these animals who came there to drink. There are more than 20 streams and springs, the water is collected in small natural and handmade bowls or spreads. According to legend, each of the streams treats different diseases, so tourists try the water from all of them.

National Museum of the Republic of Tyva

It was founded in 1929 in Kyzyl. Unique collections presented in the museum are: Archaeological collections of the Scythian mounds "Arzhaan" and "Arzhaan-2"; Tuvan ethnographic collections; Tuvan women's and men's silver jewelry; cult collections of Shamanism, Buddhism and Orthodoxy.

Dus-khol lake A salty spring in the Republic of Tuva. In the Tuvan dialect, the name of the reservoir means “salt lake”. Dus-Khol is a natural monument and is under state protection. The water in this spring has healing properties. Throughout the summer season, tourists and locals come to the reservoir.

Events include:

International Festival of Live Music and Faith “Ustuu-Khuree” The festival, which shows all the magnificence of indigenous cultures, has been held in the Republic of Tyva since 1999. The festival arose in line with the idea of restoring the ruins of a once majestic Buddhist temple in Chadan. The motto of the festival was live music and following the universal spiritual postulates of living faith (kindness, tolerance, unpretentiousness to the benefits of life). The simplicity of the living conditions of the tent city, the proximity to nature, the special atmosphere of the ruins of a Buddhist temple, the constant joint music playing of the participants — all these components created a unique image of the festival. Traditionally, the Ustuu-Khuree festival takes place in July.

International festival Khoomei in the Center of Asia The festival program traditionally includes competitions among throat singing performers, the consecration ceremony "Ovaa khoomei". It is held every two years. During the festival, the number of participants reached more than 600 people, including 31 foreign citizens from different countries, such as the US, China, Mongolia, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Brazil.

National holiday “Naadym” Naadym is a Tuvan national holiday of shepherds, held annually in mid-August. It necessarily includes the national wrestling khuresh, horse racing, archery, competitions for the best national yurt, the best national costume and equipment of a horse.