One of Genghis Khan's direct descendants has been identified after he discovered in his backyard a hundred-year-old document showing his family tree, the Sunday Chongqing Morning Post reports.

Bao Wenguang, says the document, written in Mongolian and Manchurian Mandarin, proves he is a direct descendant of the legendary warrior who united Mongolia eight centuries ago and ruled an empire that stretched from Southeast Asia to Central Europe.

The document was found in 2002 when his mother was tidying up the courtyard in the family's ancestral home, but Bao only recently made the find publicly known.

The "Bao family tree," is 6 meters long, 1.45 meters wide and together with other documents covers a period of more than 200 years. The collection of family records fills in a number of historical gaps, making it a significant find for scholars, experts say.

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2007)