Sutai Hairakhan (Mountain of National Religion)
Most of Sutai Hairakhan belongs to Tonhir County, Gobi Altai Province, but the other side of the mountain straddles Darbi County and Tsetseg County, Khovd Province. The highest peak, "Snow Bogd," is 4,234 meters above sea level, and Sutai Hairakhan stretches for 60 kilometers. In 2000, climbers climbed Sutai Hairakhan and measured its altitude. The other side of the mountain is covered with larch forests, and it is one of the 13 permanent snow mountains in the Mongolian Altai Mountains. The Usan Zuiri River flows from the bosom of the mountain and flows into Lake Tonhir. On a slightly lower hill at the foot of Sutai Hairakhan, there is a "Great Ovo (stone pile)" where rituals have been held since ancient times. On July 26, 2007, a ceremony was held in the Great Ovo by President Enkhbayar's Decree No. 183, and Sutai Hairakhan was designated as a national ritual mountain. Ceremonies were held in 2008, 2012, and 2016.
Many rivers flow from the eternal snow peaks of Mount Sutai, the most beautiful of which is the "Valley of the Murun River", which begins at the confluence of the White River surrounded by willow, birch, and larch forests. This valley stretches for more than 50 kilometers, irrigating the fertile soil north of Khobhir and nurturing grasslands that support pastures and rich harvests of crops.
There are various legends about Sutai Hairakhan. According to one of them, it separated from the snow-covered Himalayas, became part of the Altai Mountains, and rose to the east of Mount Batar Hairakhan. In the past, people would bring wild cattle down from the mountains, domesticate them, and use the milk to make a living. This is why the mountain was called "Sutai Mountain (Mountain of Milk)" and changed to "Sutai" over time. Another legend says that a man from another region who came to the land of Sutai with a single horse bought a few sheep from the local people, raised them, and ended up with a large flock of sheep. This is why, when celebrating Sutai Hairahan, they began to chant "Sumber White Altai, full of good fortune and blessings from the flock of white-haired sheep." Local people have revered and revered the eternal white peak of Sutai Mountain as "a mountain that brings the blessings of thousands of flocks of sheep."
Around 1920, Zhangbal, a wrestler from Sutai Township, was climbing the valley of the Murun River after drawing water for his fields from the Hoid River when he encountered raiders from the White Army in the Daqin Valley. He dragged a dozen soldiers off their horses and fought them, but he was captured when he ran out of strength and was dragged by horse for more than 10 kilometers to the village of Tsagaan Aling, where he lost his life at the hands of the White Army. A Tibetan researcher who saw the wrestler's shoed feet left in a place called "Black of Taiji" said, "Along the forests of Sutai Mountain and the waters of the Murun River, this is the land where strong wrestlers are born."
