Governed as an independent municipality, Ulaanbaatar is surrounded by Töv Province, whose capital Zuunmod lies 43 kilometers south of the city. With a population of just under 1.5 million , it contains almost half of the country's total population. It is the country's cultural, industrial and financial heart, the centre of Mongolia's transport network and connected by rail to both the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia and the Chinese railway system.