Western Xia Imperial Tombs

The Western Xia was a state founded by the Tangut people that ruled this region from 1038 until the Mongol conquest in 1227, with its own script, Buddhist canon and court, and it was thoroughly destroyed, so its history had to be reconstructed largely from archaeology and documents found later. Nine imperial tombs and around two hundred and fifty subsidiary graves stand on the gravel plain below the Helan range, the mounds now weathered into stepped conical shapes of bare rammed earth several storeys high, isolated on flat ground with the mountains behind. A museum on site displays Tangut script, carvings and reconstructions.

What you actually see

• The eroded mounds - stepped earth tomb cores standing on open gravel.
• The mountain backdrop - the Helan range immediately west.
• The museum - Tangut script, sculpture and reconstruction of the state.
• The scale - nine imperial tombs across a wide plain.

When to go

April to June and September to October; summer is hot with no shade and winter cold with wind off the mountains. Low sun on the mounds gives the strongest photographs.

Honest expectations

The tombs are eroded earth cores, not buildings, and the site is bare with no shade. Shuttle transport between mounds is compulsory. Interpretation is largely Chinese.

Nearby

Helankou rock art lies north; Yinchuan is east.