Beijing resident Marcus Batsukh is just a hop, skip and step away from his neighboring motherland. But, the American-born Mongolian couldn't be more thrilled about living in the Olympic capital.
"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Besides Mongolia, I've never enjoyed being in one country so much."
The 27-year-old son of Dr Galsan Batsukh - the Ambassador to China for Mongolia - spent the latter part of his childhood in Beijing and returned to the city earlier this year. "I love China so much that I can't get away from it," says Batsukh.
"I keep coming back for more. Every time, it changes."
As China continues to undergo massive change and growth, Batsukh sees great potential for the future of his native country - especially as Mongolia celebrates its national day today. "China is very important for Mongolia," he says. "Commercially, culturally, there's a lot to be learned from both sides."
"China is the oldest culture in the world, and Mongolia is not far behind it - and there's a lot of shared histories there."
With the fall of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Mongolia declared independence in 1911. Batsukh says the national day is very important to Mongolians. "It is almost a religious holiday," says Batsukh. "I would say almost 100 percent of the people observe it."
Traditional Nadam festivals feature Mongolian wrestling, horse racing and archery and are held over the three-day holiday period.
This year, Batuskh and his family are joining in with the festivities back home. "I am 110 percent Mongolian. And, I'll tell people I'm Mongolian all day long," he says. "It's very important for me to know and feel and be Mongolian."
"At the same time, it's very important for me to know other cultures and enjoy them while maintaining my own culture."
Batsukh recognizes he has been fortunate, as his father's line of work has exposed him to several cultures during his time in Mongolia, China, America and Canada.
"Living and working in so many countries has allowed me to have numerous perspectives and to sum it up in one word - it's my global perspective," says Batsukh.
"One day, I hope to transfer what I've learned to Mongolia, to help it develop better and faster.
"Ideally, I want to forge better ties between Mongolia and China because it's very, very important to me, to my Mongolian people and to the Chinese."
(China Daily July 11, 2008)