Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (CNN) -- In the vast open steppe outside Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar, the great emperor Genghis Khan is very much alive.
His giant statue hovers for as far as the eye can see. But this is more than a monument: This is the very embodiment of the spirit of a man whose life and legacy are both a link to a glorious past and an inspiration for the spiritual and economic renewal of this country.
People flock here in their thousands each day to feel the emperor's presence and revere his memory.
"I come here every few months to pay respect to our great emperor," one man told me. "He conquered the world. I don't say my son should grow up to be as powerful as Genghis Khan but he must have his spirit as a descendant of Genghis."
Geneticists say almost one in ten men in Asia carry the DNA of Genghis Khan.
Not surprising, considering Genghis Khan and his descendants conquered much of China, Russia, central Asia, Europe and the Middle East. It is still the greatest land empire the world has known. In 25 years, the Mongols captured more land than the Romans managed in 200 years.
But in recent centuries, Mongolia itself has been ruled by China and the former Soviet Union, when mention of Genghis himself was banned.
Not any more, and his name now is now synonymous with the economic rise of a new Mongolia. But in the rush for riches there are those left behind who struggle to lift themselves above the poverty line. To them Genghis is more myth than reality.