Rock paintings in the Helan Mountains include portraits, totems, geniality signs, and scenes of hunting, grazing, war and dance. There is something genuinely uninhibited and unaffected about them.

 Rock Paintings at Helan Entrance

Rock paintings at the Helan Entrance are representative pieces of rock paintings in the Helan Mountains, with 2,194 rock paintings recording the life and production of China's northern nomadic people. These paintings have been deemed as a cultural treasure for researching the history of Chinese culture, religion and primitive art.

The Helan Entrance is located in Jinshan Village of Helan County in the middle of the Helan Mountains, and is more than 50 km away from the City of Yinchuan. With its steep cliffs, the Helan Entrance is located 1,448 meters above sea level.

Featuring quiet and beautiful scenery, overlapping ridges and peaks, and loquacious mountain springs , the Helan Entrance boasts many rock paintings that span over 600 meters.

Among the rock paintings at the Helan Entrance, human faces are most prevalent, followed by images of oxen, horses, donkeys, birds, wolves and other animals.

The human rock paintings appear simple yet bizarre -- some with horns on their heads, some with feathers and others wearing either pointed or rounded hats. As for the female images, some have headdresses, while others wear their hair in a bob, looking elegant and beautiful, and suggesting that the pursuit for beauty dates back thousands of years.

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