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Animal patterns on the rocks are crude in composition but vivid in imagery. There are images of running deer, bharals with protruding tornados, galloping coursers, dogs swaying tails, flying birds and beasts of prey, as well as images of human hands and the sun, and scenes of primitive religious activities.

According to the graphs on the rock paintings and inscriptions, most of the paintings at the Helan Entrance were done by northern nomads in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770-221BC), while others date back to the Western Xia (21st – 16th century BC) and other dynasties.

Bid for World Heritage Status

On April 24, 2004 the government of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region officially approved that the rock paintings in the Helan Mountains bid to enter the World Cultural Heritage of the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

As early as 1997, rock paintings in the Helan Mountains have been listed by the UNESCO as an informal world cultural heritage. In July of that year, a committee was set up for the bidding of the rock paintings in the Helan Mountains for the formal world cultural heritage, kicking off the preparatory work. The bidding institution conducted the most detailed and professional investigation into the rock paintings, which amounted to over 5,000 pieces in 2,000 groups; they also discovered more than 20 relics and other sites pertaining to northern nomadic ethnic groups.

Creating an international bidding document was another important task. After two years, the bidding institution successfully completed a high-quality document to facilitate the bidding process

（Source: chinaculture.org）