Kharkhorin is a city and sum

Sum (subnational entity)

Sum, sumu, sumon, and somon are a type of administrative district used in China, Mongolia, and Russia.-China:...

 (district) center in the Övörkhangai Province in Mongolia

Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

. Sum population was 13,828 (1994), 13,964 (2000), 13,496(2003). Kharkhorin city population is 8,977 (2003), city area is 20.5 km².

Kharkhorin is located at the lower end of the upper valley of the Orkhon River, part of the World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

  Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape. The location marks the eastern foothills of the Khangai Mountains, where they meet the rolling steppe of central Mongolia.

Nearby are the ruins of the ancient town of Karakorum

Karakorum

Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...

, which for a short time served as the capital of the Mongol Empire

Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...

 under Ogedei Khan. Another landmark is the Erdene Zuu monastery

Erdene Zuu monastery

The Erdene Zuu Monastery is probably the most ancient surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. It is in Övörkhangai Province, near the town of Kharkhorin and adjacent to the ancient city of Karakorum...

.

The main sources of income to Kharkhorin are tourism and agriculture. Water from the Orkhon river serves to irrigate the crops on the large plain east of the town. The Kharkhorin Airport

Kharkhorin Airport

Kharkhorin Airport is a public airport located in Kharkhorin, a sum center in the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia. The airport is located 4 km north of the town. There is a small passenger terminal building at the northeast side of apron but itis reported that there are virtually no...

 (KHR/ZMHH) has one unpaved runway and is served by regular flights from and to Ulan Bator.