Ikh Burkhant

The site called Ikh Burkhant is located on the Western bank of the Khalkh River, 35 kilometres (21,75 miles) North the sum of Khalkh, in the province of Dornod, in the extreme East of country.

On this site, you can see many statues of Buddhist gods, among which the huge one, sculpted right on the hill, of Janraiseg, "Avalokitesvara" in Sanskrit, protective God represented with the legs apart. The local regent Bat-Ochiriin Togtokhtor or Tovan (Van means lord) ordered the statue in 1859; it was erected in 1864, then renovated from 1995 to 1997.
Tovan and Buddhist lamas erected the statue horizontally on the Western bank of the Khalkh River, in order to symbolize the protection of the oriental border and the security of the country. Building the site was made possible thanks to donations of the people and lamas. The statue is 30 metres (98,43 feet) long, and 1 to 3 metres (3,28-9,84 metres) deep in the rock. It was made with stones carried by 1000 carts pulled by bullocks and 180 craftsmen were required to work on it. Around the statue, 12 stupas and 20 smaller statues representing impressive Gods who're watching prayer wheels were built. You can see on the ground some strange stone representing broken faces and a stone couple that's forever hugging each other.