The Mongolian government has announced that it is to build a 40 metre high statue of Chinggis Khan (that’s how they spell Genghis these days):
Plans were announced to build a 40-metre high statue on Tsonjin Boldog hill, 53km outside Ulaanbaatar. The steel statue of Chinggis Khaan, holding a golden whip, is to be financed by the Genco Tour Bureau.
Two things strike me as slightly odd about this.
Firstly, there are plenty of nice hills surrounding Ulaan Baatar, so why on earth are they building the statue in the middle of the steppe, more than 50 kilometres outside of the capital city? Many Mongolians – even those who live in Ulaan Baatar – will probably never even see the statue if they build it there.
I suppose tourism is a major reason for building the statue (besides the whole glorifying Chinggis thing), but is there really enough money in tourism to justify building such an expensive monument? And what kind of tourist is going to head outside of town specifically to see a big statue? Everyone goes to Mongolia to see the wide open steppe, not big statues.
And secondly, just what kind of tourism are they trying to attract with this whole “golden whip” idea?
This should answer some of your questions.
I think there’s some effort in Mongolia to encourage history tourism/emphasize the historical and cultural significance of sites in the country. I can’t recall if this is true or I’m misremembering something, but I think there’s a good road being built out to the Orkhon Valley, the seat of a handful of Turkic and Mongol empires.