Helanshan Rock Carvings

Helanshan Rock Carvings is also called Helan mountain rock paintings at Helan Shandong mountain in Yinchuan city Ningxia, the distribution of an extremely rich rock-art heritage. It is a Prehistoric art gallery. Since the nineteen eighties Helan mountain rock paintings are found and announced to the world, has aroused strong repercussions in China and abroad. In 1991 and 2000, the UNESCO by the International Commission of rock paintings in Asia at the two annual meeting held in Yinchuan, choose. 

Helan Mountain, or Helan Shan is an natural barrier extending for 250km from north to south, which divides Inner Mongolia and Ningxia. The west slopes of Helan Shan are gentle and smooth, connecting Alashan Plateau while the east slopes are rugged and steep, overlooking at Yinchuan Plain.

On the over-30 passes in the east slopes of Helan Shan and the wild grasslands on the alluvial fan, exist some 6,000 images and graphs, pictographs of rock carvings. The rock engravings at Helan Shan mainly depict animals, plants, hunting scenes, faces and figures. They are the last remnants of the nomadic tribes living on the steppes.

The rock carvings at Helan Mountain date back to some 10,000 years, predating any dynasties that once appeared in the area. The Helan Shan rock art belongs to China north rock art system with various animal images – domestic animals: cattle, horse, donkey, camel and wild animals: tiger, wolf, leopard. Sheep is widely used in the Helan Shan including bharal, antelopes and sheep.

In general, the rock carvings of Yinshan and Helanshan are believed to be bound up with expressions of identity, a sort of ancient precursor to MySpace or Facebook, if you will, albeit, one devoted to the group, or tribe, rather than to the individual. These petroglyphs are by no means pre-historic – they date from the Eastern Zhou (BCE 770-221) period, which is subdivided into the Spring and Autumn (BCE 770-476) period and the Warring States (BCE 475-221) period. By comparison, Taoism, the earliest religious belief in China to be crystalized, as it were, from the nebulous notions of religion that were stirring at the time (the dualism of the Yin and Yang preceded Taoism (but was incorporated into Taoism) and before that, there was the notion of animism, or the belief that all things – humans, animals, plants, stones, etc. – possess a spirit), originated in BCE 604.

The petroglyphs of Helanshan are a continued source of scholarly research into the history, culture, economy and customs of the ancient nomads of northern China, and are as well a treat for lay folk – including tourists – to observe first-hand.

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