Evidence has indicated that people in central China's Henan Province with the family name Xiao are the descendants of Genghis Khan, according to experts.

Genghis Khan.[File photo]

The 5,000 people surnamed Xiao finally found their ancestry to be of the Mongolian ethnic group instead of Han after 20 years of research by five experts on Mongolian culture and history from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Nankai University and Inner Mongolian University.

The people living in 30-odd villages in Zhongmu County, all identified as Han ethnic group on their household registration books, are found to be descendants of Genghis Khan's grandson, who migrated to central China with his people, said Ren Chongyue, a researcher with the Institute of History of the Henan Academy of Social Sciences.

Ren said the experts had been looking for the descendants of the famous Mongolian emperor, and finally found clues in Zhongmu's county annals. The tomes revealed that the Xiao family came from the Mongolian plateau and are related to a Mongolian noble.

The news spread among villages quickly and there is great satisfaction among the Xiao people, who have long heard legends about their ancestry but never had it confirmed, said Xiao Wenxue, director of the county's radio station.

"We have found a sense of belonging now that we know our ancestor. My clansmen plan to travel to Mongolia to worship the tomb of Genghis Khan, and try to establish a culture gallery to tell our own history," Xiao said.

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