| Mausoleum of Genghis Khan | |||||||||
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 Main hall | |||||||||
| Chinese | 成吉思汗陵 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Burial mound of Genghis Khan | ||||||||
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The Mausoleum of Genghis Khan is a mausoleum dedicated to Genghis Khan, where he is worshipped as ancestor, dynastic founder, and deity. The mausoleum is better called the Lord's Enclosure (i.e. shrine), the traditional name among the Mongols, as it has never truly contained the Khan's body. It is the main centre of the worship of Genghis Khan, a growing practice in the Mongolian shamanism of both Inner Mongolia, where the mausoleum is located, and Mongolia.[1]
The mausoleum is located in the Kandehuo Enclosure in the town of Xinjie,[2] in the Ejin Horo Banner in the city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia, in China. The main hall is actually a cenotaph where the coffin contains no body (only headdresses and accessories), because the actual tomb of Genghis Khan has never been discovered.
The present structure was built between 1954 and 1956 by the government of the People's Republic of China in the traditional Mongol style. It was desecrated and its relics destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, but it was restored with replicas in the 1980s and remains the center of Genghis Khan worship. It was named a AAAAA-rated tourist attraction by China's National Tourism Administration in 2011.
- ^ Man (2004), p. 22.
- ^ "Mausoleum of Genghis Khan". China & Asia Cultural Travel. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 2020-01-28.