Since Mongolia is a developing country that has around only 3 million people, the way foreigners look at Mongolia is quite different from what it actually is. Even though Google is your best friend to know the unknown, some of the sources can not be trusted. So here are some of the most famous myths about Mongolia.

Why do Mongolians…?

Why do Mongolians use Cyrillic?

So first of all, Cyrillic letter is a pretty recent adaptation for Mongolians. After several changes of Uigarjin, Durvuljin, and even Latin letters, Mongolians have finally adapted Cyrillic letters from Russia in the 1940s. During that time, Mongolia was part of a ‘Comintern’- a soviet association.

Why do Mongolians have red cheeks?

First of all, not all Mongolians have red cheeks, especially in recent days. However, it’s common for residents in the countryside to have red cheeks because of the extreme weather conditions. During the winter, they go outside regularly during the cold winter to look after their livestock and immediately go back to the yurt to avoid freezing. When extreme cold and hot atmosphere crash, it causes the capillaries to break, reddening the cheek.

Why do Mongolians speak Russian?

As mentioned below, Mongolians used to be in the Comintern. That’s why Russian culture is common in Mongolia. During this era, it was mandatory for countries in Comintern to learn Russian, and it was included in the education system. Nowadays, it’s not common for Mongolians to know Russian.

Why do Mongolians look Chinese, are Mongolians Korean?

Okay, so these kinds of questions are so common, but I wouldn’t personally recommend asking it from a Mongolian. Mongolians tend to be prideful in their nationality so this question would for sure offend those ones.

Answer for these questions- Mongolians looks like Chinese because both Mongolia and China are Asian countries that have similar bone structure.

Are Mongolians…?

 

Are Mongolians Muslim?

No, the main religion in Mongolia is not Muslim. Mongolians have been really open-minded to the issue of religion since the era of Chingis Khaan. When he created the empire, he made sure not to discriminate against any country by religion so that they wouldn’t rebel. That’s why modern Mongolia is home to several religions including Buddhism, Christianity, Muslim, and shamanism. The majority is Buddhism.

 Are Mongolians tall?

Mongolians tend to have shorter-built body types with average men’s height of 168cm which is around 5’6″ and for women, it’s 160cm- 5’2″.

Are Mongolians Chinese?

No, Mongolians are NOT Chinese.

Why are Mongolians…?

 

Why are Mongolians so big, strong, and tall?

Despite its common myth or not, Mongolians are not so big at all. Actually, we’re pretty small people with average height mentioned above.

These ideas might have come from the tales about ancient Mongolians, them being unusually big and strong. However, due to the reasons including lack of nutrition Mongolians used to get, extreme weather change, and hard work of herding from a young age, Mongolians were never that big. Mongolians are strong though, also due to the reasons mentioned above. The constant physical exercise in the air and diet consists of mainly meat, Mongolians sure were strong.

However, these were all in the past. Mongolians nowadays are at pretty normal height, weight, and most likely strength as any usual Asian country’s.

Why are Mongolians nomads?

The long-run culture of herding hasn’t yet faded away from us. Half of the population of Mongolia still takes care of livestock for a living.