Cinema was invented in 1895 in France by the Lumière brothers, and brought to Mongolia in 1910. One of the most culturally significant early film venues in Mongolia was the palace of Bogd Khan, which was located in the country’s capital Da Khuree. Apart from being an important Buddhist cleric and Mongolia’s king from 1911 to 1924, Bogd Khan was also an important patron of early Mongolian cinema. The king’s wife, Pataa, recalled how in 1917/18 a film was shown to Bogd Khan’s courtiers. The courtiers were fascinated by the king’s “shadow suppressor”, which made people appear on a white cloth screen when palace monks operated film equipment. Aside from the Bogd Khan’s palace, four to five other film venues were located in Mongolia’s capital city at this time. One was established at the French stock exchange on a road later named Illusion Street because of the ‘magical’ images conjured from film projectors in the stock exchange building. Other venues were established in the Russian Birja Hotel, German and US trading posts, the palace complex of Jantsan Beis and Nanzad Zaisan, and the old Chinese trading town built to the east of the city center. Aside from these urban venues films were also shown outside the capital. These included locations at Shivee Khiagt and Altanbulag on the Russian border, as well as temporary sites set up for special events. After Prime Minister Namnansuren made an official visit to Russia in 1913 to obtain film equipment, a special cinematic event was held at Uyanga district center in the central Mongolian countryside. Throughout this period of Mongolian history cinema was well received by the Mongolian population. But its expansion was hindered by Mongolia’s weak economy, poor transport infrastructure, and the fact that its population was distributed over a vast territory. Cinema also received a measure of opposition from the Buddhist establishment. Despite Bogd Khan’s personal enjoyment of cinema, in 1913 he issued a decree banning Buddhist monks from taking part in the ‘sorcery’ of film-screenings.