Mausoleum of Genghis Khan
Mausoleum of Genghis Khan was built in 1954 in Erdos City, Inner Mongolia, about 185 km (around 115 miles) from Baotou City. Known as Temujin (his birth name), he grew up to be a mighty warrior of Mongolian people. Soon afterwards he unify all tribe of Mongolian under one banner, and he was proclaimed as Genghis Khan, which mean powerful king. Famous as world conqueror, Genghis Khan's Empire territory stretch from Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea which count half of the world.
Genghis Khan (1162-1227) died in what is today's northwestern Gansu province, when he battled against the Xixia Kingdom (or Western Xia Dynasty 1038-1227) in an attempt to unify the country. His remains were taken to the Ejin Horo Banner on the Erdos Highlands and buried there. Five hundred nomadic families of his clan were picked to stand guard at the mausoleum, who subsequently became the special guard to defend the mausoleum of the great warrior from generation after generation and were renamed as Dalhut people, which mean "guards of the sacred mausoleum" in Mongolian.
When Japanese troops invaded China in 1937, the Dalhuts moved Genghis Khan's remains to northwestern Qinghai Province and the mausoleum was abandoned. His remains did not return until 1954 when the central government of China rebuilt the mausoleum. Since then, the Dalhuts had a formal site selected for making grand ceremonies. The ceremonies are attended by various Mongol monks, some from the Republic of Mongolia, and various peoples of the Daur Minority. Most of the ceremony takes place in the main hall, that houses a five meter-high statue of Genghis Khan, and rites include the burning of butter lamps, chanting from Mongolian scriptures and the offering of a whole roast lamb.
The main structures of the mausoleum are three grand halls, which has shaped like Mongolian yurts, and the corridors which link the three halls. In the middle is the Main Hall, which is contains a white marble statue of Genghis Khan with 5 meters (around 16 feet) height. Behind the statue is the map of the vast territory of the Yuan Dynasty, and along the corridors there are two murals depicting the life of Genghis Khan and his descendant Khubilai Khan, who was as great as his grandfather. On either side of the Main Hall are the East Hall and the West Hall. In the East Hall, coffins of one of Genghis Khan's wives and his fourth son are laid. In the West Hall, there are nine banners of nine Genghis Khan's general.