By plane, it takes about 6 hours to get to Ulan-Ude from Moscow and it costs about $275 one way. There's a daily flight to Ulan-Ude from Moscow operated by Sibir airlines. All information on air flights to Ulan-Ude and ticket costs can be obtained on website: http://www.s7.ru/en/. You can also reserve beforehand and get electronic tickets at a significant discount on this website.

     You can get to the centre of the town by public bus (usually minibus) ь 55 or 77 till stop "Ploshad Sovetov" (main square of the city with a big Lenin's head-monument). And after a 5-minute's walk you'll reach hotels "Buryatia" and "Siberia". Bus ticket costs 15 roubles. Alternatively, you can take a taxi (pay no more 300 roubles) to get to any hotel.

     By train, it takes slightly more than 4 days to get from Moscow to Ulan-Ude (or 7-9 hours from Irkutsk). Ulan-Ude is a major stop along the Trans-Siberian, so all trains stop there. From there, Trans-Siberian divides into two parts: one route goes further to Vladivostok, and the other goes south through Mongolia to China (Trans-Mongolian).

     In front of the station, you can take a minibus or a taxi to the center (pay no more than 100 roubles) to get to any hotel.

     The meeting of the Conference participants from the airport and railway station will be organized. Therefore, you should present itinerary of your arrival to the Organizing Committee.

     Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryatia, is located in the middle of vast Siberian steppes, on the 5640th kilometer of the Trans-Siberian railway. It is an important commercial and industrial center of Eastern Siberia. Ulan-Ude is a very unusual and charming city.

     The first striking impression is an unusually calm and mellow way of life. There are about 400 000 inhabitants (more than 50% of people in Ulan-Ude are native Buryats with canny almond eyes). In some parts of Ulan-Ude the "Russian part" comes into play: a huge head of Lenin on the central square, that is included in the Book of Guinness's Records, Soviet style hotel buildings, some remains of the typical 19th century architecture, traditional wooden houses along the streets.

     Little Korean passenger minibuses are rushing back and forth, like rickshaws, the sun is unbelievably bright and hot, and you see the tips of the mountains surrounding the city:

     Ulan-Ude is a very interesting place to stop for a few days on your way along the Trans-Siberian: apart from its peculiar feel, there are a lot of other things to experience. The local open air ethnographic museum tells an interesting story about the life and traditions of native Siberians (Buryats and Evenks), as well as colonizers (Cossacks and Old-believers), Ivolginsky Datsan is a center of Buddhism in Russia. Besides, the Buryatian side of Baikal Lake is easily accessed by transport (unlike the hilly shore of Irkutsk side). If you endure a 3 hour trip through the mountains on the way to the lake, you'll be rewarded: after the first 250 kilometers, the road goes along the shore of Baikal, so you can hop on a bus or a car, hop off whenever you want, and camp on the sandy beach with Baikal just 10 meters away! Otherwise, if you don't feel like camping, you can stay at a local's place, where local people are especially very friendly and open to visitors. There are also a couple of sanatoriums along the way, so you can get a hotel-like room for yourself.

     Originally, there were Buryat people living in the area around Ulan-Ude. A Buryat person has a very affective attitude towards his land and animals. It gave a rise to many legends, and it's not rare even nowadays to see a skilled Buryat person riding a horse along an endless steppe. Harsh natural conditions and winter colds were making it hard to grow any crops, so the main occupation that was providing food and shelter for Buryats was cattle-breeding, and they were very proficient in this.

     A powerful and intimidating Mongol kingdom was the nearest neighbor, and their ambitions to submit Buryats to their rule were a source of great insecurity for local people. Buryats are naturally peaceful and calm people, so they were not excited about the idea of fighting with Mongols.

     Perhaps, that is one of the reasons why the first explorers and calonizers from Russia - Cossacks - were so peacefully accepted by Buryats. Another reason (that is more like a legend) is that early Cossacks were giving Buryats "fire water" - vodka - in exchange for furs and meat, and in this manner weakened Buryats.

     Anyway, in the 17th century Cossacks established several of their ostrogs (fortresses) on the territory of modern Buryatia, and one of the most important one was Udinskoe, at the place where modern Ulan-Ude is located.

     Strategically, Udinskoye was a perfect place located on the trade way between Russia and China. Besides, it was very well fortified, and surrounded by the mountains. In 1768, there was the biggest fair in Eastern Siberia established in Udinsk. And in 1775 Udinsk was granted the city status.

     In 1899 Udinsk, called Verhneudinsk then, has got another boost in its development: the Trans-Siberian railway was constructed through the city, leading further to China. Verhneudinsk improved its trade importance.

     During the Soviet times, the whole region became an important industrial and agricultural center. Machinery and metal processing industries (for example, locomotives production), wood processing plants, and farms were established there. In 1934, as a part of government policy - giving the cities the ethnic names, Verhneudinsk was renamed into Ulan-Ude, which means "red uda" in Buryatian language ("uda" is the name of the river, where Ulan-Ude is established).

     Nowadays, even though the overall level of production and agriculture is far from perfect, Ulan-Ude is striving, and it seems that it's doing relatively well, even though there's still high level of poverty in Buryatian republic.

     There are a lot of scientific institutions in Ulan-Ude, and it is delightful that they develop not only in a traditional way: for example, there's a department for Indo-Ttibetan medicine studies in Buryat scientific center of Russian Science Academy in Ulan-Ude. Besides, the historicians are actively studying the past of native people and are making startling discoveries: in August 2002 the city history museum exhibited fragments of old Buryat buddhist attributes, as well as the rare Tibetan Medicine Atlas. Moreover, it is evident, that people are getting back to their origins: old shamanistic traditions and buddhusm. Shamanism is gaining people's interest again. Buddhism that was brought to Buryatia hundreds of years ago and then suppressed by the communists, is becoming popular again. The new Datsans (Buddhist monasteries) are being built, and Dalai Lama himself visited Ivolginsky Datsan in 1992 and encouraged local people to continue their religious practices.

     Ulan-Ude is situated at the junction of two rivers (Uda and Selenga) between two mountain ranges: Khamar-Daban and Ulan-Burgasy. Although the city looks quite big on the map, it doesn't seem as such one, if you stay in the centre. The main street is Lenin street, along which most hotels, some museums, and shops are located. The railway station is located in the centre, about 5-10 minute's walk from Lenin street. The bus station is also in the centre. It is easy to move around in minibuses, because there are many of them and it takes not long to get to any part of the city.

     Generally, it is very contrast: in summer, it may be very hot, and in winter, it may be freezing. The whole Buryatia, and Ulan-Ude particularly, is considered to be the place where there are the most sunny days during the year, comparing to other places around.

     The average temperature during the year is: January -27 | February -18 | March -9 | April +1 | May +9 | June +18 | July +20 | August +22 | September +10 | October 0 | November -11 | December -19

     Participants should note that emergency medical costs are not covered by the registration fee. Participants are strongly advised to arrange travel insurance with an insurance company in their own countries.