Earth Hour in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

For the first time in Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar turned off its light to honour Earth Hour on Saturday March 25, 2010.

From 8:30-9:30pm, lights were switched off in all organizations surrounding Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar, the city’s central square and location of the centre of Parliament. Earth Hour expresses concern about current global environmental issues.

During the hour of darkness, people were supplied candles and performers entertained the crowd with non-electrical musical instruments. One of these was the traditional Mongolian Morin Khuur (fiddle with horse’s head), a bowed stringed instrument. The Morin Khuur is one of UNESCO’s Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

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