Seventy-two cliff paintings were recently discovered at Helan Mountain in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region during a general survey on cliff paintings in the region.

The paintings, in 28 groups, are of sheep, deer, horse, tiger, donkey and human faces. They spread over a 15-km area between Helankou and Chaqikou.

"This is the largest group of cliff paintings discovered in the past three years," said He Jide, director of the Helan Mountain Cliff Painting Administrative Section in Yinchuan, the regional capital.

The cliff paintings at Helan Mountain are pre-historic cultural relics carved with stone and metal tools by nomads in northern China. They are scattered over an area stretching several hundred kilometers.

The paintings displayed scenes of herding, hunting, offering sacrifices and life episodes some 3,000 to 10,000 years ago. Animals dominate the cliff paintings, followed by figures, vehicles, plants, planets, fingerprints, written characters and abstract signs.

Prior to the recent discovery, 19,752 cliff paintings in 5,098 groups have been found at Helan Mountain, once a nomadic area. The paintings provide valuable evidence for the study of the history of human development, ethnic religion and primitive painting, He Jide said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2005)