Once you are in Buryatiya do not forget to visit another place that will help you understand better Russian culture. It is Kyakhta town. Kyakhta is connected with one of the most essential Russian traditions – tea drinking.

The town is situated 235 km away from Ulan-Ude and has the population of 18,200 people (1997 estimate). The town appeared in 1727 and soon became one of the major trade centers on the “Great Tea Rout”. It was the fort post, from which Russia sent a lot of exploration groups to the East and started official relations with China. Through the town passed trade caravans carrying numerous sorts of tea and other eastern specialties to the European countries.

Kyakhta preserved the appearance of an old Russian town with distinctive merchant architecture. Local Museum of Regional Studies, named after Russian academician V.A. Obruchev, is one of the oldest (exists since 1890) and richest in Siberia.