When traveling to Ningxia, the Helan Mountain Petroglyphs Geological Park is an inevitable choice for most people. Because the rock paintings of Helan Mountain belong to the national key cultural relics protection unit, the national AAAA-level tourist attraction, one of the first 20 national research and tourism demonstration bases announced by the state in 2016, and an art gallery for Chinese nomads. The world praises it: time is aphasia, but stone can speak.
Helan Mountain rock paintings, as the name suggests, are pictures carved on the cliffs of Helan Mountain. It is widely distributed on the cliffs at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, which stretches for more than 200 kilometers. The most representative one is the petroglyphs in the Helankou Geological Park, 50 kilometers northwest of Yinchuan City, which belongs to Jinshan Village, Jinshan Township, Helan County. .
Entering the gorge of Helankou, you can see clear or vague petroglyphs everywhere on the steep rocks on both sides. This is a precious legacy left by the ancients to future generations after thousands of years of wind and rain erosion. It records the life scenes of grazing, hunting, sacrifice, war, entertainment and other animal patterns and abstract symbols of sheep, cattle, horses, camels, tigers, leopards and other animals from 3,000 to 10,000 years ago, revealing the primitive The cultural connotation of clan and tribe nature worship, reproductive worship, totem worship, and ancestor worship is a cultural treasure house for studying the history of Chinese human culture, religion, and primitive art.
Among the many petroglyphs, the rock painting of the sun god below has the most research value and artistic value. The exquisitely portrayed sun god stands high above, resembling a person, a god and an object, radiating dazzling light, about 20 meters above the ground. In the past, stairs were built from bottom to top for tourists to enjoy close-up. Today, for the sake of protection, the scenic spot has closed the steps, and people can only look up at the ancients' worship of the sun totem below, and express the worship of the sun by today's people.
Nomads naturally make a living as nomads, and their life scenes are basically grazing. Many petroglyphs in Helan Mountain show the daily life of nomads. The following two paintings vividly depict the scene of the shepherd driving the sheep out of the sheepfold to graze in the pasture and expelling wild animals.
After thousands of years of wind and rain erosion, many petroglyphs on the cliffs have become blurred and indistinguishable. Even experts and scholars who have studied rock paintings for many years cannot explain and interpret their meanings, but this will not reduce the overall historical value of these rock paintings. , academic value and artistic value.
In addition to these petroglyphs that have been static for thousands of years, if you have good eyesight, if you have enough patience, if you are lucky enough, you can look at the high rocks of Helan Mountain, stare steadily, and walk around slowly. Suddenly, You will be pleasantly surprised, and you can't help exclaiming, how can the rocks on the mountain still move? Oh, that's not a rock, that's a sheep. Yes, that's blue sheep. In order to protect themselves, blue sheep have a natural protective color, which almost blends with the entire mountain rock and the entire cliff. Isn't that a vivid petroglyph? Isn't that a vivid landscape? The miraculous Helan Mountain, the rock paintings that have been silent for thousands of years are actually moving!
