was granted to Kyakhta in 1805. After the entire Russian-Chinese frontier was opened to trade in 1860 and the Trans-Siberian and the Chinese Eastern Railways bypassed it, Kyakhta fell into decline. The town was renamed Troitskosavsk during the first part of the 20th century, but the original name was restored in 1935. Other sources have Troitskosavsk as a fort a short distance north, Troitskosavsk being the administrative and military center while Kyakhta was the trading post on the border. In the mid-20th century, a branch railway was built from Ulan-Ude (on the Trans-Siberian) to Mongolia's Ulan Bator, and, eventually, to China, paralleling the old Kyakhta trade route. However, this railway crosses the Russian-Mongolian border not in Kyakhta itself, but in nearby Naushki. Kyakhta Pidgin As the first market town on the border between the Russian and Chinese Empires, Kyakhta gave its name to the so-called Kyakhta Russian–Chinese Pidgin, a contact language that was used by Russian and Chinese traders to communicate. Administrative and municipal status Within the framework of administrative divisions, Kyakhta serves as the administrative center of Kyakhtinsky District. As an administrative division, it is, together with one rural locality (the settlement of Sudzha), incorporated within Kyakhtinsky District as the Town of Kyakhta. As a municipal division, the Town of Kyakhta is incorporated within Kyakhtinsky Municipal District as Kyakhta Urban Settlement. Economy Kyakhta's economy today relies mainly on its status as an important center for trade between Russia, China, and Mongolia, located on the highway from the republic's capital of Ulan-Ude to the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator. It also has textile, lumber, and food-processing plants. Culture Kyakhta is home to the Damdin Sükhbaatar memorial museum. Climate Kyakhta has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dwb) with dry, severely cold winters and warm, moist summers. Town name in other languages (Khiagt) Manchu: Kiyaktu Chinese: 恰克图 / 恰克圖 (Qiàkètú) or 恰克土 (Qiàkètǔ) (Khyaagta) In Mongolian, Kyakhta was formerly known as (Ar Khiagt, lit. "North Kyakhta"); Altanbulag (then, Maimaicheng) across the border was (Övör Khiagt, lit. "South Kyakhta"). When the town was known as Troitskosavsk, its name in Mongolian was (Deed Šhivee). References Notes Sources Е. М. Поспелов (Ye. M. Pospelov). "Географические названия мира" (Geographic Names of the World). Moscow, 1998. Christie, Ian R. (1993). The Benthams in Russia 1780–1791. Oxford, UK; Providence, RI: Berg Publishers Limited. . . Cities and towns in Buryatia Populated places in Kyakhtinsky District Mongolia–Russia