Genghis Khan’s memory erased from view as China cracks down on Mongolian culture

"Genghis Khan is a god in Mongolians' minds," said Ulzidelger Jagchid, an ethnic Mongolian from China who is now an activist living abroad. "The government fears that Mongolians, with this belief in a god, will come together and unite." Beijing, he said, "Wants to lower the position of Genghis Khan in Mongolians' world."

The alteration and vandalism of a site devoted to Genghis Khan inside China comes after local authorities banned unilingual, Mongolian instruction in schools, supplanting it with bilingual - Mandarin and Mongolian - education that, people in Hulunbuir say, has dramatically reduced the classroom time devoted to a language that is still used in many homes.

For ethnic Mongolians, Genghis Khan remains very important, said a Mongolian woman in Hulunbuir, adding that all Mongolian families have an image of him in their homes.