A divine inheritance

People pay their respects at the mausoleum. Its busiest times of the year fall on Lunar New Year and Tsagaansurek, the peak day of a one-week annual spring sacrifice, which falls on the 21st day of the third month of the lunar calendar. China News Service

To him, the decision to inherit his family's tradition was simple. He is the 40th generation of the Darhad people and to date, the youngest guard among the mausoleum's 30-person full-time squad.

There are about 6,000 Darhad people living in Ejin Horo, a county-level administrative district in the region, but most have switched to other jobs.

Darhad guardians have kept an oil lamp in the palace burning for nearly 800 years. Jinbao scrupulously makes the lamp wick out of dried straw and cotton - his most important duty.

The mausoleum's busiest times of the year fall on Lunar New Year and Tsagaansurek, the peak day of a one-week annual spring sacrifice, which falls on the 21st day of the third month of the lunar calendar.

During these special occasions, the Darhad tribe hosts dozens of rites and sacrifices for tens of thousands of pilgrims.

However, most of the time, Jinbao and other Darhad guards quietly stand watch, while keeping the visitors away from the lamp table and making sure the palace is clean.

"Our job takes patience. Someone who gets lonely easily may not be the most suitable candidate," he said.

He lives with his family in the nearby countryside and raises cattle.

He met his wife, also a Darhad, while he was taking a class at a university in Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia. They married in 2012.

He bought a house near the mausoleum, but had lived with his parents before the new lodge finished renovation.

"Every time I find a book about Genghis Khan, I buy it," Jinbao said, explaining piles of books crowding his desk. "But I've only read bits and pieces of them.

"Safeguarding the mausoleum will be my lifetime duty," he said, adding that he looks forward to having a baby son.

"In that way, I can pass down the family profession of keeping our god safe."