Helankou Rock Art

The Helan mountains carry rock art at many points along their eastern face, and Helankou has the densest concentration: several thousand images pecked into dark boulders and cliffs on both sides of a gorge, made over a long span from the Neolithic through successive nomadic peoples of the steppe. Animals, hunts, herds and hands appear, but the dominant motif is the human face, hundreds of them, some plain ovals with eyes, some rayed like suns, some with elaborate headdresses, staring out of the rock at head height along the path. Tangut script inscriptions appear among them from the Western Xia period.

What you actually see

• The carved faces - hundreds of human faces along the gorge walls.
• The animal images - sheep, deer, horses and hunting scenes.
• The Tangut inscriptions - Western Xia script added among older carvings.
• The gorge setting - dark boulders and cliffs in the Helan range.

When to go

April to June and September to October; summer is hot and exposed, winter cold and windy. Low angled light picks out the pecked lines far better than midday sun.

Honest expectations

Many carvings are faint and hard to see without good light. The gorge path involves rough ground. Entry is charged and includes a museum. There is little shade.

Nearby

The Western Xia tombs lie south; Yinchuan is east.