Yinchuan: Western Xia Tombs & Helanshan Rock Paintings Tour

Begin your day with a pickup from your hotel in Yinchuan. Head to the Western Xia Museum, where you’ll learn about the West Xia Dynasty (1038-1227) and see cultural relics like stone horses, tablets, porcelains, Buddhist sutras, paintings, and statues. Next, visit the Western Xia Tablets Forest. Stroll around the area and check out different tablets that tell the stories and histories of the dynasty. Continue to the Western Xia Tombs, the royal mausoleums of the emperors in the Western Xia Dynasty. Explore the tombs, including the tomb walls, tomb platforms, foundations, and building components. Visit Tomb No. 1, 2, and 3, and learn about the layout, burial ways, building techniques, and arts of the imperial mausoleum. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant (at your own expense), then head to Helan Mountain. Discover the rock paintings carved by northern China minorities, including the Huns, Xianbei, Tujue, Uighur, and Tibet, 3,000 to 10,000 years ago. Visit a museum to learn about rock carvings in China and the world, then take a battery bus to the foot of the mountain. Stroll around the area with your guide, enjoy different rock paintings on the mountain, and learn about their meaning. After your tour, you’ll be transferred back to your hotel in Yinchuan.