Michele Palazzi

Black Gold Hotel

book
In the last decade the economy of Mongolia has grown at an unprecedented rate. Gold, coal and copper mines beckon investments by foreign companies. In this accelerated development traditional ways of life, based on ancestral nomadic herding, are undergoing a crisis. Many families have moved in large urban centers. Others, however, try to resist. Black Gold Hotel is a journey in the daily lives of people all over the country, from the families in the Gobi desert to the young people in UlaanBaatar.

In the last decade the economy of Mongolia has grown at an unprecedented rate. Gold, coal and copper mines beckon investments by foreign companies. In this accelerated development traditional ways of life, based on ancestral nomadic herding, are undergoing a crisis. Many families have moved in large urban centers. Others, however, try to resist. Black Gold Hotel is a journey in the daily lives of people all over the country, from the families in the Gobi desert to the young people in UlaanBaatar.

One of the few bus stops, some kilometer away from the city of Dalanzdgad.?Despite the fast growth of the economy, in Mongolia highways and public transportation are, for the most part, still not available to the population.?Omongov, 2013
Mongolia, Gobi, Omongovi, 2012 Munkhdul is going to move the camels herd in a better pasture place.
Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, novembre 2013 Zona industriale
Tuvshinbayar Sugirsuren with his children during a sand storm. Omongovi, 2012
Tuvshinbayar is tying his horses to prevent them from escaping during the sand storm. The horses are primarirly used for the races which take place during the Naadam festival and they are ridden by the kids. Omongovi, 2012
Hovorerden Sugirsuren playing with his sister during a sand storm.?He lives with his family in their “ger”. The closest city is about 60 km far. During the winter the children of the family live with their uncle,  who moved his "ger" to the capital of Gobi Dalanzdgad a few years ago.?Omongovi, 2012
Tuvshinbayar milking the camels before it gets night. The productive life cycle of the nomad families almost totally depends upon the raising and use of camels. Omongov, 2013
Ulan Bator, Mongolia, October 2013 - Mongolian metal band in concert >< Ulan Bator, Mongolia, ottobre 2013 - Concerto di gruppi mongoli di musica metal
Ulan Bator, Mongolia, October 2013 - Stripper getting ready for the show in a famous strip club >< Ulan Bator, Mongolia, ottobre 2013 - Una spogliarellista pronta per un'esibizione in un noto strip club
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Tuvshinbayar and his wife Erdenchimeg are getting ready to cull one of their camels. They only do this 2 or 3 times a year. They store the meat for themselves besides selling it to the miners’ camp. Omongovi, 2013
The cook of the miners camp, 23, playing karaoke. She has come to live in the camp in order to help her mother who needs medical cures. She left her daughter with the grandmother in Dalanzadgad, no children in fact live in the camp. White Mountain outpost , 2013
A cloud of coal dust in the road built by Energy Resource Mine to connect coal delivery from Mongolia to China. New roads interrupt wild animals and pasture’s daily transit. Dust lifts as minetrucks pass through, and covers the surrounding vegetation, making it impossible for the cattle to feed themselves. White Mountains outpost, 2013
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Mongolia, Ulaanbatar, novembre 2013 >< Zaya, studentessa universtitaria nella sua abitazione nel 3 distretto di ulaanbaatar
A Mongolian waitress working at the Broadway restaurant, the only one for foreigners in the sum. The westerner and Mongolian managers of the mining companies live in settlements built for them where the villagers are prohibited from accessing Tsogttsestiie sum, 2012
Coal dust raised by the wind in the Tavan Tolgoi Mine. Gold, coal and copper mines beckon foreign companies that work on the territory without a plan to protect the population, the fauna and the landscape. Omongov, 2013
Tuvshinbayar Sugirsuren resting Omongovi 2012
Mongolia, Gobi, Omongovi, 2012 A young nomadic girl is resting after shearing the camels.
A Chinese miner in the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine. In Mongolia there is a large immigration of lower class Chinese people who cross the border looking for any kind of employment offered. Omongov, 2013
Munkhdul is resting while drinking camel milk tea.?He has been taken in care by the Sugirsuren family. Every morning at dawn his task is to pasture the camels. The nomad families use camel milk to produce vodka, tea, yogurt and cheese.?Omongovi, 2012
Ulan Bator, Mongolia, November 2013 - Two brothers in the city dump, where they work till night looking for things in the waste. >< Ulan Bator, Mongolia, novembre 2013 - Due fratelli nella discarica della città, dove lavorano fino a notte cercando oggetti tra i rifiuti
Mongolia, Ulaanbatar, novembre 2013 >< Visione del distretto residenziale 3°
Zaya, 11 years old, outside the tent in a sunny winter day. During winter the temperature can reach minus 25 degrees. Omongovi, 2013
Mongolia, Ulaanbatar, novembre 2013 >< Two buildings under construction near one of the power stations of Ulaanbaatar
Ulan Bator, Mongolia, November 2013 - Police service for alcohol abuse prevention intervening on an alcoholic. >< Ulan Bator, Mongolia, novembre 2013 - Le forze di polizia per la prevenzione e il controllo dell'abuso di alcol intervengono su un alcolizzato.
Dorj, 70 years old, smokes a cigarette in his “ger” mounted in the outskirts of Dalanzad- gad. Dorj and his wife Narangerel have abandoned the desert life hoping that the city would grant them a better old age. Unfortunately as of today they don’t feel the integra- tion has yet happened because of the huge cultural gap between the nomads and the city life style Dalanzadgad, 2013
Mongolia, Ulaanbatar, novembre 2013 una giovane studentessa unoversitaria
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A police detective having his meal in the Police department canteen. Police often have to face with domestic violence issues almost always linked to alcohol abuse. Dalanzadgad, 2013
Mongolia, Gobi, Omongovi, 2013