History of the mysterious kingdom

Some 770 years ago, in the vast areas of northwest China stood a feudal kingdom called "Western Xia" among the Song (960-1279) and Liao (916-1125) dynasties at the same time. The kingdom lasted for 189 years under 10 successive emperors, contributing significantly to the development of China's western regions.

In the 13th century, when Genghis Khan united Mongolia and the country gradually grew into a formidable power, he began the process of expansion and invasion. And the Western Xia bore the brunt of the mighty Mongolian cavalries. During 22 years, the Mongolians initiated six onslaughts against the Western Xia, of which four were headed by Genghis Khan himself. In 1227, the Mongolian warlord besieged Xingqing, the capital of the Western Xia, for six months. But the invincible Mongolians faced unprecedented resistance and paid a very high price for attempting to conquer the nation. When the city was captured, the Mongolians conducted a vengeful massacre, badly damaging the imperial tombs. Today, visitors can only expect to find piles of relics at the site.

After 189 years, the once powerful and civilized Western Xia Dynasty came to an end and the ethnic Dangxiang people had also disappeared. Only the grand mausoleums under Helan Mountain still display the site's former prosperity.

History books also lack records about the dynasty, shrouding the ancient civilization in even more mystery. But from the abandoned constructions, unearthed relics and fragmented scriptures, we can still trace the marks of the glorious civilization.

  Discovery and protection of the site

In June 1972 workers digging up the groundwork for a small airport found a dozen porcelain pots and some bricks at the site. The bricks had rows of characters on them that resembled Chinese characters , although they were not recognizable.

Excavations were completed on one main tomb and four annexes. The main tomb is believed to belong to Li Yuanhao, and all of the tombs have stairways or sloping paths leading to their coffin pits.

In the wake of poor maintenance and heavy erosion, most of the buildings are now fairly damaged, with crumbling brown earth scattered across the plains.

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