Chinese geographer Li Daoyuan was probably the first person, about 1,500 years ago, to discover Helanshan rock engravings. In the fifth century, Li traveled extensively throughout China to conduct geographical surveys. He discovered the rock engravings along the river bed of the Yellow River.
    He wrote about his discoveries in his Commentary on the Waterways Classics.
    Li is the first known person to have recorded rock engravings. China, of course, was the first country known to record rock engravings.
    The 10,000 rock engravings on the Helanshan Mountains have been designated world cultural heritage relics.

The Mountains Seem to be Intelligent

Looking at a map of China, you may notice all the mountains in this ancient nation run  west to east, with the exception of the Helanshan Mountains, which are in the north, and the Hengduan Mountains, in the south.
    Mountains, however, are silent and shapeless when examined on a map. You can only see what they really look like when standing close to them. As a result, nobody  can find other  unique things about the Helanshan Mountains Ñ just by looking at a  map. No wonder French painter Jean Clottes, former chairman of the UNESCO International Rock Engravings Committee, was so deep in thought when he saw the  mountains firsthand: They  appeared to be intelligent, and could easily be  called “holy mountains.” Of course, he was there for the rock engravings.
    E.Arnartti, UNESCO advisor and former chairman of the World Rock Engravings Committee, visited the Helanshan Mountains for the engravings. He was moved to tears by their beauty. He went to see the mountains while in China for the International Rock Engravings Committee and the Ningxia Symposium on Rock Engravings in 2001. He said: “This reminded me of the first time I saw rock engravings. When I was a 22-year-old student conducting  research in ancient culture, I studied rock engravings in Egypt. It was in the Nicco Desert, which had the same types of sand and grass.”
    The Helanshan Mountains, somehow, force people to cherish the past-and think about the future.
    “Helanshan” is a Mongolian term for “steed.” As you approach the Helanshan Mountains, you will no doubt be pleasantly surprised to see they resemble a galloping steed Ñ full of grandeur.
    The Helanshan Mountains, in ancient times, separated the peasants and herdsmen. The mountains were home to nomads - including the Xianyun, Qiangrong, Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Xianbei, Turkish, Huihu, Tibetan, and Mongolian people. Dangxiang was the closest to the Helanshan Mountains. At the foot of the mountains, Dangxiang’s Xixia Dynasty lasted about 300 years, and its subjects and rulers considered the mountains to be  “sacred” and “holy.”
    Today, many Buddhist towers and temples - built by the Dangxiang people Ñ remain on the mountains, and all of them were built by Dangxiang  people.

A 250-Kilometer, Ancient Artistic Corridor

The corridor of rock engravings, which runs through the mountains, makes  the Helanshan  Mountains  sacred -not the ruins of the Xixia Dynasty. The rock engravings had been hidden in the mountains for thousands of years. It is widely believed only some of the engravings have been found - many more are still hidden by the rocks and cliffs.
    The Helanshan Mountains extend 250 kilometers, from west to east, in Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Seemingly countless ancient rock engravings are arranged from north to south on the eastern cliffs.
    It is a magnificent, prehistoric artistic corridor of rock engravings- hidden deep in the mountains.
    The rock engravings extend from Mairujing, in the north, to Damaidi, in the Tengger Desert in the south. They have been identified in 27 locations. There are about 19,596 pieces amongst 5,098 groups of rock engravings. Those figures are conservative estimates. Experts believe there may be more than 25,000 engravings amongst 10,000 groups.
    The existence of these rock engravings lend credibility to widely held belief the mountains are sacred - that the mountains integrate heaven and earth. Take the “Sun God” rock engravings for example. The engravings could be considered either a sign of people’s fear of nature or their worship of the sun. That indicates the creators of the rock engravings believed the Helanshan Mountains were the medium, or bridge, through which the  “Sun God” communicated with the witches and souls on earth. In essence, the rock engravings help create the lore that deities lived in the mountains.

Who Discovered the Rock Engravings?

Li is widely believed to have discovered the rock engravings in the fifth century while conducting geographical surveys. In his Commentary on the Waterways Classics, he wrote: “The river flows to the northeast, and then turns west and passes  the cliffs. On the rocks, in the 250-kilometer-long mountains that run north, there are natural carvings that resemble magnificent tigers and horses. As they are like paintings, they are called rock engravings.” Scholars believe Li saw the rock engravings in the Helanshan region.
    The rock engravings were rediscovered by the Dangxiang people - who had admired the Helanshan Mountains and worshipped Buddha - duringthe Xixia Dynasty.
    As they had a special love for the mountains, and felt close to them, they  traveled through the  mountains more thanany other ethnic group. As a result, they discovered the mysterious hidden rock engravings. The Dangxiang people no doubt were shocked and perplexed when they first saw the rock engravings. They were definitely overwhelmed by the silent rock engravings. The Dangxiang were ready and  willing to believe the engravings were  sacred - that  the  engravings formed a bridge between them and the world in which their gods lived. As a result, the Dangxiang, who were devout Buddhists, knelt before the rock engravings with cutting tools and carved their unique Xixia language alongside the etchings.
    Today, Xixia language experts understand the writings next to the rock engravings. Written by one of the most important engravings are the words: “Able to make Buddhism prosper.”
    That indicates Xixia people believed the rock engravings were signs of good luck, and they believed they were strong enough to promote and reinvigorate Buddhism.