Khöshöö Tsaidam Monuments & Museum
Хөшөө цайдам
The original site of the 8th-century Turkic steles for Kul Tigin and Bilge Khagan, inscribed with some of the earliest Old Turkic and Chinese texts
Khöshöö Tsaidam is the site of the monument groups for Kul Tigin of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate (732) and Bilge Khagan (735). One face of each stele bears Chinese text composed by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, and the rest is in Old Turkic runiform script. They are important sources for studying relations between the Turks and the Tang dynasty and are representative of the Orkhon inscriptions. A museum built with Turkish assistance in 2010 displays the original steles, stone statues, gold crowns and other excavated objects. Admission is about 10,000 tögrög. The site is about 45 km north of Kharkhorin, roughly 1 hour on dirt roads.
Opening hours
Approx. 09:00–17:00 (summer)
Nearby sights
- Kharbalgas (Ordu-Baliq)
- Turtle Rock
- Ruins of Karakorum
- Erdene Zuu Monastery
- Kharkhorum Museum
- Orkhon River Valley
- Phallic Rock
- Mongol Empire Monument