:00:15. > :00:20.I'm on a journey across Mongolia. It's an adventure through a country
:00:20. > :00:30.with sport in its DNA. From epic horse races across vast a
:00:30. > :00:32.
:00:32. > :00:35.wilderness, to more modern sporting heroes with Olympic ambition.
:00:35. > :00:38.been waiting for an Olympic gold for over four decades. This is a
:00:38. > :00:43.country that's changing beyond recognition. It's still a land of
:00:43. > :00:47.beguiling tradition but it's also a country with more modern surprises.
:00:47. > :00:53.He bought a purse, shoes. I'll discover how rapid growth and
:00:53. > :00:56.urbanisation have brought rewards here but also big challenges. And
:00:56. > :01:06.I'll see how sport is helping Mongolia find its place in the
:01:06. > :01:37.
:01:37. > :01:46.Yes, they couldn't have done it It's early morning in midsummer
:01:46. > :01:50.Mongolia. From across the plains that surround the industrial city
:01:50. > :01:55.of Erdenet competitors gather. They've come to take part in an
:01:55. > :02:00.ancient sports festival, called the Naadam. It's just after 7.30am,
:02:01. > :02:04.first day of the Naadam. First event to kick things off is this
:02:04. > :02:12.stallion race. All of the horses are ridden by children, the
:02:12. > :02:17.youngest of whom is just seven- The event is an incredible test of
:02:17. > :02:20.endurance by anyone's standards. Well before the race gets going,
:02:20. > :02:30.all the horses, riders and an army of supporting four-wheel drives
:02:30. > :02:31.
:02:31. > :02:34.travels out onto the Steppe, to the So the kids have been riding for an
:02:34. > :02:39.hour and a half now and they haven't actually got to the start
:02:39. > :02:43.line yet, which is 25 km away from the base camp. Once they get there
:02:43. > :02:47.they'll turn round and race back. There'll be over 60 riders in this
:02:47. > :02:52.race alone. It's just one of several taking place over the two
:02:52. > :02:57.days of the festival. Naadam isn't just about horse racing but these
:02:57. > :03:00.epic contests are by far the biggest part of the festival. At
:03:00. > :03:09.times the atmosphere among the riders on the way to the start
:03:09. > :03:19.seems so relaxed it's easy to With breathtaking speed - the race
:03:19. > :03:36.
:03:36. > :03:41.It's a spectacular combination of The pace is incredible - over 25
:03:41. > :03:48.kilometres. We drive at heart- stopping speed just to keep up.
:03:48. > :03:50.Never mind what it must be like on Riders are sometimes injured in
:03:51. > :04:00.these races, though thankfully today the chasing ambulance isn't
:04:00. > :04:04.Whenever we ride up alongside kids you can hear them crying, singing,
:04:04. > :04:14.encouraging the horses along. There's no fear, there's no worry
:04:14. > :04:14.
:04:14. > :04:21.about falling off. They're just At the finish-line huge crowds
:04:21. > :04:24.Now the horse races here at Naadam aren't just any old race. These are
:04:24. > :04:29.public holidays so thousands of people will turn out at the finish
:04:29. > :04:32.line will turn up to see the end of a big race. And what's interesting
:04:32. > :04:37.is it's people all across Mongolian society - farmers all the way up to
:04:37. > :04:47.the VIPs over there. Nearly four hours after first setting off, and
:04:47. > :04:48.
:04:48. > :04:58.after over an hour of racing, the It's the end of just one of many
:04:58. > :04:59.
:04:59. > :05:03.races that will take place during The festival isn't just about
:05:03. > :05:06.horses and riders though. Back in Erdenet, Mongolia's third largest
:05:06. > :05:12.city, the other two sports that make up Naadam are also getting
:05:13. > :05:16.While the archery takes place in the grounds around the stadium,
:05:16. > :05:26.it's fair to say most eyes are focused on the battles taking place
:05:26. > :05:29.
:05:29. > :05:39.For the entire two days of the event, the best wrestlers in the
:05:39. > :05:41.
:05:41. > :05:44.region will fight it out until one Bouts are not timed. They continue
:05:44. > :05:54.indefinitely, until one of the competitors touches the ground with
:05:54. > :05:58.
:05:58. > :06:01.Watching with me in the stands is my guide in Mongolia, Jargal.
:06:01. > :06:11.Jargal, there's a spiritual aspect to sport here in Mongolia as well,
:06:11. > :06:11.
:06:11. > :06:14.isn't there? Yes, there is. In fact we have a word - hemur - which is,
:06:14. > :06:17.I don't think there's an English translation for it, it stands for
:06:17. > :06:24.energy and luck together combined. We Mongolians believe horses,
:06:24. > :06:29.wrestlers and wolves have that special spirit. Now you can
:06:29. > :06:32.actually pick up a bit of god luck, can't you? Well, it's believed that
:06:32. > :06:42.if you touch the sweat of the winning wrestler or winning horse
:06:42. > :06:44.
:06:44. > :06:46.at the races you can get some of it, So if I go up to the winner of the
:06:46. > :06:56.wrestling competition, a big muscly sweaty man and touch him there's
:06:56. > :07:06.
:07:06. > :07:09.not going to be a problem. No, it only counts if he's winner! So
:07:09. > :07:13.maybe you'll see after the wrestling is finished you may see
:07:13. > :07:15.some people try to touch him to get some of that hemur. OK, that's
:07:15. > :07:18.something to look forward to. Naadam is the constant in Mongolian
:07:18. > :07:27.life. For centuries it's the one thing that Mongolia, as a whole
:07:27. > :07:37.nation, stops and celebrates every It is the event which gives this
:07:37. > :07:39.
:07:39. > :07:42.But it's no longer the only show in town. Being here at Naadam has very
:07:42. > :07:47.vividly brought home to me exactly how central sport is to Mongolian
:07:47. > :07:52.culture. Nomads have been competing in the so-called Manly Games for
:07:52. > :08:02.over 800 years, even pre-dating the legendary Genghis Khan. But success
:08:02. > :08:07.
:08:07. > :08:12.in the modern Olympics has bred a new set of heroes, including ccx. -
:08:12. > :08:16.- Badar Urgan. His Olympic gold medal for boxing in Beijing was one
:08:16. > :08:19.of two the country earned after 44 years of taking part. The Games in
:08:19. > :08:22.August 2008 - and this fight in particular - ended Mongolia's long
:08:22. > :08:25.decades in the sporting wilderness. I don't think I've seen anybody in
:08:25. > :08:35.this entire competition put in as clear and as clearly defined body
:08:35. > :08:43.
:08:43. > :08:46.But when Badar Urgan, a young 23- year-old boxer from Ulaan Baatar.
:08:46. > :08:48.Won an Olympic gold medal not just by a whisker but convincingly,
:08:48. > :08:58.everything changed. In fact, altogether Mongolia won two golds
:08:58. > :09:05.
:09:05. > :09:08.and two silvers in Beijing. In terms of medals per capita it meant
:09:08. > :09:11.this remote and landlocked country was one of the most successful
:09:11. > :09:21.nations at the 2008 Games. For Mongolians this wasn't just a
:09:21. > :09:21.
:09:21. > :09:27.sporting turning point but a national one. Their country had
:09:27. > :09:35.arrived on the international stage. But even Olympic athletes get some
:09:35. > :09:39.time off for the Naadam. Back in Erdenet, Badar Urgan meets his fans
:09:39. > :09:42.in a short break from training. He explains his significance of the
:09:43. > :09:48.victory in Beijing. TRANSLATION: We had been waiting
:09:48. > :09:52.for the Olympic gold for 44 years. Among Mongolians, after the
:09:52. > :09:57.Olympics there was a rise in interest generally in sport. People
:09:57. > :10:02.started to realise it is possible to win a gold in the Olympic Games.
:10:02. > :10:12.It only depends on you. Since then, Mongolia has enjoyed success in
:10:12. > :10:12.
:10:12. > :10:17.other competitions, like the Asian and world championships.
:10:17. > :10:20.Olympic gold in Beijing put Mongolia on the sporting map. But
:10:20. > :10:25.at the heart of the pride he has brought to his country, there's a
:10:25. > :10:29.very personal victory, too. For him, sport, and especially boxing, which
:10:29. > :10:34.is relatively new here in Mongolia, was a route out of poverty and
:10:34. > :10:42.trouble. I hear that you were a bit of a troublemaker when you were
:10:42. > :10:47.naked. Is that true? TRANSLATION: I would say 150 %
:10:47. > :10:52.naughty as a child. I was getting into trouble in the streets in
:10:52. > :10:59.Ulaan Batar. Always getting into fights. It was my uncle who said to
:10:59. > :11:02.me, you should be a boxer and do it somewhere where it is permitted.
:11:02. > :11:08.Now, with the credibility that comes with being an Olympic
:11:08. > :11:14.champion, he is trying to help some of the kids growing up in the same
:11:14. > :11:18.circumstances as he did. As well as helping coaching, he is taking a
:11:18. > :11:23.message about discipline and hard work directly to the next
:11:23. > :11:28.generation. TRANSLATION: I have been travelling
:11:28. > :11:33.through Mongolia doing lectures about the importance of success and
:11:33. > :11:38.trying to follow your dreams. Most of the kids I speak to are from the
:11:39. > :11:44.same sort of district where I grew up. I tried to inspire them and
:11:44. > :11:48.tell them that they should view every day aspects of life, like
:11:48. > :11:58.gathering wood and fetching water, as part of their training to become
:11:58. > :12:06.
:12:06. > :12:14.Boxing and an Olympic gold medal have transformed Badar Urgan's life.
:12:14. > :12:18.But the wider effects of success stretched out across this vast land.
:12:18. > :12:25.Two hours up the road from Erdenet is a remote hideaway where this
:12:25. > :12:29.country is hoping it can nurture its next Olympic heroes. We're now
:12:29. > :12:32.in one of two Mongolia's mini Olympic villages. This is where
:12:32. > :12:35.their athletes come through for their training. Not just for the
:12:36. > :12:41.Olympics but for international championships all over the world.
:12:41. > :12:45.This is the heart of it, where they take their meals in the summer. And
:12:45. > :12:49.beyond that you can see some of the hills. We are sitting in a rather
:12:49. > :12:54.deep valley. That is where they do quite a lot of their fitness
:12:54. > :12:59.training. I don't know if you can catch just over my shoulder, a
:12:59. > :13:05.swing and play area for the athletes to relax in. Inside the
:13:05. > :13:09.main training gym there isn't much relaxing going on. Today's session
:13:09. > :13:14.is wrestling, but this camp has a constant stream of athletes from a
:13:14. > :13:20.wide variety of sports hoping to follow in the Badar Urgan's
:13:20. > :13:25.footsteps. One of the cultures tells me greater spoken -- sporting
:13:25. > :13:28.as a sex is now one of Mongolia's top priorities. By succeeding in
:13:28. > :13:36.the Olympic Games we are demonstrating the success of
:13:36. > :13:39.Mongolia in our development, culture and economics. Although the
:13:39. > :13:42.Olympics take place during peacetime, the games are a bit like
:13:42. > :13:52.war. It's all about competing against other countries. Or
:13:52. > :13:53.
:13:53. > :14:01.Mongolia, we are now giving high And has Badar Urgan's success had a
:14:01. > :14:06.particular effect? TRANSLATION: Particularly in the Olympic final,
:14:06. > :14:11.he beat a very strong boxer with a very large margin. Both of our
:14:11. > :14:15.champions won their medals convincingly. There was a special
:14:15. > :14:24.effect on young people. They got a huge belief that, in becoming an
:14:24. > :14:27.athlete, you can promote Mongolia and be proud to be Mongolian.
:14:27. > :14:34.An increasing sense of national pride is not the only thing
:14:34. > :14:41.changing this country. We have hit the wrote and we're heading to
:14:41. > :14:44.Ulaan Batar, Mongolia's capital city, where Badar Urgan grew up. It
:14:44. > :14:49.is a similar journey to the one that thousands of people are making
:14:49. > :14:55.as they migrate from the countryside, fundamentally changing
:14:55. > :15:01.this country's character. Mongolia is the most sparsely populated
:15:01. > :15:08.country in the world with just under three million people in an
:15:08. > :15:12.area six times the size of the UK. Following a series of hard winters
:15:12. > :15:16.and a perceived rise in economic opportunity in the cities, nomads
:15:16. > :15:21.are no longer migrating around the countryside but out of it
:15:21. > :15:25.altogether. Mongolia is approaching at demographic turning-point
:15:25. > :15:34.unthinkable just a few years ago. Soon more people will lead in the
:15:34. > :15:41.capital than here in the countryside. -- will live. We
:15:41. > :15:48.stopped to take a rest with some of the nomads who, so far, remain here.
:15:48. > :15:55.This is the traditional Mongolian tea. How do you make it? Boil water,
:15:55. > :15:59.add green tea, add milk, a little salt. How do you like it? It is
:15:59. > :16:03.actually very nice. What is interesting is this kind of
:16:03. > :16:08.hospitality, going to someone's house, then offering you tea and
:16:08. > :16:16.something to eat, is central to Mongolian culture, isn't it? It is
:16:16. > :16:22.very common. This is our tradition. You can basically visit any family
:16:22. > :16:29.without warning them. You just come to their home and say, hold your
:16:29. > :16:35.dog. That is like, hello, someone is here. And they will say, come in,
:16:35. > :16:39.you are expected. They will offer food, tea. If you take your hat off
:16:39. > :16:48.and pitted on the ground that means, please, I would like to stay
:16:48. > :16:51.overnight here. -- and put it. tradition grew up because people
:16:51. > :16:54.were living long distances away from each other and there was a
:16:54. > :16:59.hope that there would be reciprocity of this kind of
:16:59. > :17:05.kindness? Absolutely right. People live far from each other so, when
:17:06. > :17:15.guests arrive, it is always really respect the guest. They will offer
:17:15. > :17:22.you tea, some food, and you have a chat about work. And as Mongolia
:17:22. > :17:28.are denies is, as more people move into cities and settled communities,
:17:28. > :17:33.have you seen these traditions surviving or are they dying out?
:17:33. > :17:39.would say we still have this tradition. You cannot really knock
:17:39. > :17:49.any door in an apartment building. It would not be the same. But you
:17:49. > :17:53.would be offered tea at least. For these nomads, life in
:17:53. > :18:03.Mongolia's wide-open spaces continues for now. But their
:18:03. > :18:04.
:18:04. > :18:09.numbers are dwindling all the time. The long road through the steppe
:18:09. > :18:16.finally leads us here to the Mongolian capital, Ulaan Batar. In
:18:16. > :18:22.the last five or ten years, UB, as the Mongolians call it, has changed
:18:22. > :18:26.almost beyond recognition. Well from the rapidly expanding mining
:18:26. > :18:30.sector is fuelling an economic and population boom. But the
:18:30. > :18:35.traditional does it still have a place in the New Mongolia. As we
:18:35. > :18:41.arrive in the city centre, 999 children are gathering to perform
:18:41. > :18:45.in a traditional horsehair violin orchestra to celebrate the holidays.
:18:45. > :18:49.It is incredible. As you walk around, there is building work
:18:49. > :18:56.everywhere. But what strikes you is this real sense of pride in history.
:18:56. > :18:59.It is almost as though it is a sort of reaction against the rush
:18:59. > :19:04.towards the modern world. Everyone I talked to says, this is what we
:19:04. > :19:08.want to hang on to. We want to hang on to our past and celebrate what
:19:09. > :19:13.we were before. But in a context of modernisation, moving forward,
:19:13. > :19:18.joining the modern, international world. These are the children of
:19:18. > :19:23.democratic Mongolia, all of them born after the overthrow of
:19:23. > :19:27.communism in 1990. As their current leadership would have it, theirs is
:19:27. > :19:35.an independent Mongolia, emerging from the shadows of its giant
:19:35. > :19:40.neighbours, China and Russia. It is a country that Mongolia's founder,
:19:40. > :19:50.Genghis Khan, would be proud of. It is the money flowing in from the
:19:50. > :19:55.mining profits that is bankrolling change.
:19:55. > :20:01.Just on the edge of the square is the epitome of the new Ulaan Batar,
:20:01. > :20:07.a complex of designer shops serving Mongolia's rich. As Jargal showed
:20:07. > :20:12.me around, I wanted to know more about this country's new label-
:20:12. > :20:17.codgers class. There are about 12 or so designer shops. Who is
:20:17. > :20:25.spending the money? Is it indigenous Mongolians or tourists?
:20:25. > :20:31.I would say Mongolians. The majority are Mongolians. Is it
:20:31. > :20:41.import -- is it important to have a Burberry raincoat? A Louis Vuitton
:20:41. > :20:47.
:20:47. > :20:50.bag is a must, I guess. A lot of people travel abroad and, before,
:20:50. > :20:55.Mongolians travelled abroad for shopping, now, they can do it in
:20:55. > :20:59.Mongolia. The shops are welcoming more
:20:59. > :21:09.customers through their doors, including an unlikely one that we
:21:09. > :21:11.
:21:11. > :21:20.found outside. Yes, he is a monk. He bought a purse, shoes. Also a
:21:20. > :21:30.coat from there. Where will you wear your new clothes? In everyday
:21:30. > :21:33.
:21:33. > :21:37.life. What does he think of the prices? Quality things cost.
:21:37. > :21:40.Mongolia's boom clearly has plenty of winners, but the expansion of
:21:40. > :21:49.the capital is not the uncomplicated success story it
:21:49. > :21:53.might appear. 60% of Ulaan Batar's residents live here in the so-
:21:53. > :22:01.called Ger districts. The modern authority of them are nomads who
:22:01. > :22:05.have left the wilderness behind -- the majority of them. If you see
:22:05. > :22:08.the Gers behind me, this is what people bring with them from the
:22:08. > :22:11.countryside. They will ask someone if they can come out in their back
:22:11. > :22:16.garden and, as they become established, the start to claim a
:22:16. > :22:20.bit of land and fence it off. As they become wealthier the start to
:22:20. > :22:25.build brick houses for themselves, and so it goes on. The interesting
:22:25. > :22:31.thing is that there is no planning permission for any of this, it is
:22:31. > :22:35.all illegal. So, in theory, they could be moved on at any time.
:22:35. > :22:39.Looking around, it is clear that no-one here has any intention of
:22:39. > :22:44.going anywhere. While it is the promise of opportunity that
:22:44. > :22:52.attracted residents here, the reality is different. More than
:22:52. > :22:57.half live below the poverty line and the majority do not have access
:22:57. > :23:01.to sanitation and running Walker -- water. To find out more I met Tuya,
:23:01. > :23:08.a single mother who moved to the city to try to improve life for her
:23:08. > :23:13.kids. Why did you move from the countryside? TRANSLATION: In the
:23:13. > :23:16.countryside, I had a few livestock. I had an income. When my youngest
:23:16. > :23:20.daughter got serious Lear-like could not find treatment so I had
:23:20. > :23:26.to move to the city to get better health care for her, and for better
:23:26. > :23:34.education, too. If it had not been for that, I could have stayed there
:23:34. > :23:38.quite happily. Tuya's family is caught between two worlds - 1 in
:23:38. > :23:45.the countryside, lacking opportunity, and one in the city,
:23:45. > :23:53.lacking community. TRANSLATION: Everything in the city is about
:23:53. > :23:59.money. If you do not have enough money or a job it is very hard here.
:23:59. > :24:07.I think my children will have a better future, and they can help me
:24:07. > :24:10.have a better life. What strikes me most about Tuya's story is very
:24:11. > :24:17.simple. It is the story of thousands of people who have moved
:24:17. > :24:21.from the countryside into the Ger district. Life is undoubtedly tough.
:24:21. > :24:25.There is no running water, work is hard to find, and what she is
:24:25. > :24:34.saying is that it is actually very lonely. But she wants what
:24:34. > :24:39.everybody else here once - a better future for her children. --
:24:39. > :24:47.everybody else here wants. She is determined to make something of
:24:47. > :24:52.this situation for herself and her kids.
:24:52. > :24:57.The Ger districts are also where Mongolia's Olympic Hero Badar Urgan
:24:57. > :25:02.grew up. Boxing was his passport to a better life, but he is not the
:25:02. > :25:07.only one for whom sport could be a way out. Munkbat Chimeddorj is
:25:07. > :25:14.pinning his hopes on the power of football. He is a coach and mentor
:25:14. > :25:18.to a group of kids living in the Ger district. His players are
:25:18. > :25:25.recent arrivals from the countryside. He set up the club so
:25:25. > :25:28.they would have something to strive for. TRANSLATION: If they were not
:25:28. > :25:33.playing football, I believe they would probably be in the streets,
:25:33. > :25:41.hanging out with the wrong kind of people. This is a crucial stage in
:25:41. > :25:45.their lives. It is hard to control them. They are used to being out,
:25:45. > :25:51.running around. On the streets of the city, there are many more
:25:51. > :25:56.dangers - traffic and drunk people. Like any good coach, it is the
:25:56. > :26:01.potential, not the problems, that Munkbat Chimeddorj sees in his
:26:01. > :26:06.players. TRANSLATION: This is my real goal - that these kids can
:26:06. > :26:11.have a better life. Some people wrongly believe that these kids are
:26:11. > :26:16.trouble and that they behave badly. But I find them to be kind, easier
:26:16. > :26:21.to deal with, in a way. When it comes to sport, they are stronger,
:26:21. > :26:25.they have more courage. Back on the football pitch, that is not
:26:25. > :26:35.something I think Munkbat Chimeddorj will be saying about me
:26:35. > :26:39.any time soon! They just couldn't have done it without me, obviously!
:26:39. > :26:45.Change is something this generation of Mongolians no better than most.
:26:45. > :26:48.The country around them is transforming fast. Munkbat
:26:48. > :26:56.Chimeddorj is hoping that the fulfilment they get from sport will
:26:56. > :27:00.help these kids to find their place in the New Mongolia.
:27:00. > :27:05.My journey across Mongolia has revealed a fascinating country
:27:05. > :27:10.rapidly growing and quickly changing. Naadam is a festival like
:27:10. > :27:14.no other on earth, virtually unchanged for eight centuries, save
:27:14. > :27:19.for the presence of four-wheel drives. It is a cultural and
:27:19. > :27:24.sporting bedrock in a land where tradition and history still matter.
:27:24. > :27:28.But the Mongolia I found is also embracing change, galvanised by
:27:28. > :27:32.success in the Olympics. This country is opening up economically
:27:32. > :27:37.and growing in confidence politically. The dividends of
:27:37. > :27:42.growth are not spread evenly. Mongolia faces plenty of problems,
:27:42. > :27:46.but if character has anything to do with it, from what I have seen,
:27:46. > :27:52.Mongolians have what it takes to overcome these obstacles. On the
:27:52. > :27:55.edge of Ulaan Batar is the Zaisan memorial. Built to commemorate
:27:55. > :28:01.their help Mongolia gave Russia in World War Two, it is a great
:28:01. > :28:06.vantage point to watch as the weather over the city shows its
:28:06. > :28:11.dramatic side. It is a final chance to ponder the country I have
:28:11. > :28:15.discovered on my journey here. In many senses, modern Mongolia has
:28:15. > :28:20.come of age. 21 years of democracy and this country is confidently on
:28:20. > :28:24.the move - be it weather, sport or politics. This country is going