Arshan

 village, spa resort

Arshan (Russian: Аршан; Buryat: Аршаан, Arshaan) is a small resort village in the Tunkinsky District, Republic of Buryatia, Russian Federation. It is known for its mineral waters, spa, and the Khoymorski Datsan (Хойморский дацан) Boddhidharma Tibetan Buddhist temple. The name comes from the Buryat word for "spring." Arshan is located at an altitude of 900 m in a valley at the foot of the snow-capped Sayan Range and the Tunkin Pinnacles. It is 120 km from the Kultuk railway station, 479 km from Ulan-Ude, and 210 km from Irkutsk. Arshan is built on the banks of the Kyngyrga River of the Eastern Sayan Range, which has more than 12 waterfalls. The village is the center of the Arshan rural municipal district.
On August 9, 1894, the Khoymorsky missionary Chistokhin gave a presentation about the mineral springs at a meeting of the Academic Council of Tomsk State University. By the end of the 19th century, there were 52 permanent residents and 40 vacation homes. In May, 1920, after the Tunkinsky valley was liberated from Kolchak's White Cossacks, the governor of Irkutsk ordered Arshan to take on the wounded from the Red army. During 1920, 320 people rested and were treated there. In 1922, a bath complex was built, and in 1925, two-bedroom housing was built. In 1926, a small hydroelectric plant was built on the Kyngyrga River. In Summer 1927, the carbonated mineral water plant began production. In 1932, a cafeteria building was built. Arshan had the status of urban settlement from 1975 to 1979.