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Sainshand District Сайншанд сум ᠰᠠᠶᠢᠨᠱᠠᠩᠳᠠᠰᠤᠮᠤ
District
Sainshand in 2025
Sainshand District Location within Mongolia
Coordinates: 44°53′30″N 110°8′12″E / 44.89167°N 110.13667°E / 44.89167; 110.13667
Country	Mongolia
Province	Dornogovi
Founded	1931
Area
• Total	2,300 km2 (890 sq mi)
Elevation	961 m (3,153 ft)
Population  (2025)
• Total	28,250
• Density	12/km2 (32/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (UTC + 8)
Area code	(+976) 1522

Sainshand (Mongolian: Сайншанд) is a sum (district) of Dornogovi Province in south-eastern Mongolia. It serves as the capital of the province. It is located in the eastern Gobi Desert steppe, on the Trans-Mongolian Railway.

The Khamar Monastery was founded by Dulduityn Danzanravjaa, the leader of the Red Hat sect, in 1821. Sainshand district was established in 1931.^[1]

Sainshand is one of the fourteen sums (district) in the Dornogovi Province.^[2][3][4] The city of Sainshand serves as the capital of the province.^[2] Spread across 2,300 km² (890 sq mi) of land area in the eastern Gobi Desert steppe,^{[1][5]: 148} it is located 460 km (290 mi) from the national capital of Ulaanbaatar.^[2] It is bordered by Airag, Altanshiree, Khuvsgul, Örgön, Saikhandulaan, and Ulaanbadrakh districts.^[6] The district is divided into five bags (communes) including Züünbayan.^{[5]: 148 [7][8]}

As of 2025, Sainshand district had a population of 28,250 which included 13,503 males and 14,747 females. The population increased from 20,526 individuals recorded in 2010.^[11]

Sainshand is a major commercial hub in the province.^[1] The economy is based on mining, trade, and animal husbandry.^[7] Industries include the production of sand and stucco for building materials, mining of fluorite, zeolite, lignite, uranium, and exploration of oil.^[6][7] The district hosted 677 registered industries, which is more than half of the 1,261 registered in the province.^{[5]: 180, 182} Compared to other rural districts in the province, where herding is a major occupation, only 3.8% of the households in the district are engaged in animal husbandry.^{[5]: 163, 185} As per the 2025 livestock census, the district had 72,802 livestock including 31,875 goats, 25,217 sheep, 7,137 horses, 3,919 camels, and 4,654 other cattle.^[12]

The Choir-Sainshand road, which forms part of the Asian Highway 3, connects Sainshand and Choir. The Trans-Mongolian Railway, connecting Ulaanbaatar, runs through Sainshand. There are several chord railway lines originating from Sainshand, including those connecting to Züünbayan and Mongol Oil Refinery in Altanshiree.^{[5]: 156-157}

As the provincial center, Sainshand hosts majority of the medical infrastructure of the province including the general hospital and five public schools.^{[5]: 193, 204 [7]} It also hosts the Central Library of Dornogovi Province, and the Danzanravjaa Museum, dedicated to Danzanravjaa.^[1]

The Gobi Solar Power Plant, with a power generating capacity of 30 MW capacity, was commissioned in February 2019.^[13] The Sainshand Wind Farm, with a 55 MW capacity, became operational in the same month.^{[5]: 24 [14]}