Lands from the Mongol Empire presents a compilation of visual stories that connect the land, culture and people of Eurasia that were linked by the Mongol Empire. Produced by Kim Lau from his explorations through Eurasia since 2005.
The MAIN EXHIBITION (abstracted here) conveys the vastness of the Eurasia,
PEOPLE OF EURASIA excerpts faces from Eurasia, and the Interactive Screen cycles through
VISUAL STORIES with touch control. The exhibition is consistently categoried into 6 geographical regions:
Write your story here. (Optional)
Forty-metre tall statue of Chinggis Khan on horseback at Tsonjin Boldog, 54km east of Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar (UB). According to legend, he found a golden whip here. The statue symbolically points towards Khentii province, where Temujin was born and conferred Chinggis Khan, the Universal Ruler.
from visual story KHENTII
At 1778m, Shiliin Bogd is the highest peak in the Sukhbataar province. It is an extinct volcano, and surrounded by extinct volcanos. Shiliin Bogd is sacred to many Mongolians: the spirit of any man (and man only!) who climbs it, especially at sunrise, will be revived. Mongolians comes here from all over Mongolia for pilgrimage.
from visual story SUKHBAATAR
Amir Timur (1320-1405) was the founder of the Timurid Dynasty which conquered half of Chagatai Khanate. He was a divulged Muslim, and a patron of Persian art and architecture. The cyan-blue dome is unmistakably Timurid and it is an icon of Central Asia’s Silk Road cities; featured here is Bukhara’s Kalan mosque in Uzbekistan. Timur lived his life performing the the role of a guardian and restorer of the Mongol Empire.
from visual story TIMURID SILK ROAD CITIES
Shar-e-Ghogola trasnslates as “City of screams”. Built by the Ghorids in Bamyan, Afghanaistan, the city resisted the Mongols well, but its defence was betrayed by the daughter of the king who decided to be bethrol to the Mongols in rebellion. She was beheaded by the Mongols and her scream was shrillingly loud. Look closely in the background valley and you will find the cliff that house the Bamyan Buddha.
from visual story BAMYAN
An environmental disaster caused by irrigation projects, Lake Urmia in Western Iran (East Azerbaijan) is almost dried up. From an old pier, views of the Shahi island in the distant, believed to be the burial ground of Mongol Ilkhanate founder Hulagu Khan. The actual tomb was never discovered.
from visual story TABRIZ
The Mongols’ persistent attempts on Syria and the Levant were intricate. In 1260, The Mamluks from Cairo created the first ever halt to their advance at Ain Jalut (current-day Israel). Ilkhanate allied the Christian Crusaders while the Golden Horde allied the Muslim Mamluks; religion came into the conflict. Krak Des Chevalier in Syria is one of the most preserved crusader castle but online media reveal its damages from the war.
from visual story SYRIA
Along the Danube river, Batu Khan razed Buda and Pest before sacking the capital in Esztergom. The Danube demarcate the most western point of the Mongol‘s European conquest, when Batu Khan retreated to the Volga upon the death of Ogedei Khan in spring 1242. King Bela IV shifted his capital to Budapest after, began massive castle building. Featured is Pest viewed from Buda with Saint Stephen Basilica standing tall.
from visual story BUDAPEST
Kievan Rus is a federation of East Slavic Tribe from the 9th century centered at Kiev. It is referred by the peoples of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine as their cultural inheritance. The Mongols captured it in 1224, and Suzdal was burnt down. Suzdal was transformed into a monastic centre in the 1500s, dotting it with wooden cottages amidst onion domes. Featured here is Suzdal’s kremlin centering on the Razhdecvensky Cathedral.
from visual story SUZDAL
West of the Yellow River (Hexi 河西), there exist the corridor passage into China from Central Asia. This is the Hexi Corridor, a renown section of the Silk Road that encompassed the Gobi dessert. At the center of the corridor is Zhangye (张掖) with an area of rainbow-coloured rock formation. Marco Polo spent a year at Campichu, which has been identified to be Zhangye. Wonder if he saw this rainbow passage?
from visual story RAINBOW VALLEY
The Big Bend of Heilongjiang (黑龙江第一湾) resides in Manchuria. This area was the ancestral homeland of the Jurchen (女真) who founded the Jin Dynasty, that the Mongol conquered in 1234. Jurchen tribes made a comeback in 1616 forming the Late Jin Dynasty. It became the Qing Dynasty who ruled China until 1912, and they renamed themshelves Manchu. The Manchu culture and language are facing extinction.
from visual story AUTUMN IN MANCHURIA
The Mongols arrived at northern Java in 1293 and the impressive Buddhist temple of Borobudur had already existed for 4 centuries. 2500 km of sea travel from Quanzhou, the unfamiliar jungle of Java were treacherous. It was a transitional time for the ruling Singhasari, the Mongols assisted in repelling the rebels, only to be double crossed and forced to flee. Start of the Majapahit dynasty, cultural ancestor of the Balinese Hindu.
from visual story BOROBUDUR
The Mongols battle the Japanese Samurai in 1274 at Hakata bay. Sumo has Shinto origins for court rituals; professional Sumo began during the Edo period and many wrestlers were Samurai who needed income. Sumo today receive another wave of invasion from Mongolia, where the top 3 Yokozuna (highest ranking wrestlers) are Mongolian native. Featured is the Ryōgoku Kokugikan Sumo stadium in Tokyo.
from visual story SUMO
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© 2026 Kim Lau
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