Mandela Mountain Rock Paintings
I. Scenic Area Introduction
The Mandela Mountain Rock Paintings scatter across Mandela Mountain within Hud Hudug Gacha of Mandela Sumu, Right Alxa Banner. The site is 300 kilometers from Bayanhot, the prefectural capital, and 212 kilometers from Badain Jaran Town, the seat of Right Alxa Banner. Surrounded by desert and grasslands, the mountain stretches 6 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide, covering an area of around 18 square kilometers, with its highest peak standing over 1,700 meters above sea level. Black basalt rocks line mountain ridges and gullies, winding and undulating like giant dragons and pythons. Intertwined with the vast grasslands below, they form a magnificent natural landscape scroll. The Mandela Mountain rock paintings are carved directly onto these smooth basalt boulders.
Rock paintings are images etched or painted on stone, constituting an abundant and precious cultural heritage left by ancient ancestors for later generations. Right Alxa Banner boasts one of China’s densest concentrations of rock art. A total of 52 rock painting sites have been officially registered, holding more than 30,000 rock paintings in total. The Bubushou Handprint Rock Paintings, dating back roughly 30,000 years, are hailed as the dawn of Chinese art.
A Nomadic Homeland of Northern Ethnic Groups
Mandela is a Mongolian word meaning "rising, thriving and soaring". For thousands of years, the rolling Mandela Mountain served as a nomadic homeland for numerous ancient northern ethnic tribes, including the Di, Yuezhi, Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Xianbei, Uyghur, Turkic, Tangut and Mongolian peoples. During their long-term production and daily life, these tribes carved mysterious symbols on rocks, creating a splendid rock painting culture.
Rock art specialists have verified that the creation of these paintings began in the early Neolithic Age of the late primitive society, evidenced by depictions of ostriches and elks. The production span covers the flourishing hunting phase and embryonic animal husbandry era of the Neolithic Age, as well as successive dynasties: Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Northern Wei, Sui, Tang, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing, spanning more than 6,000 years in total. The rock paintings carry immense academic value for research into China’s ancient social development, ethnic history, animal husbandry history, fine arts history and ethnic migrations.
Designation as Key Cultural Relic Site
In March 1986, cultural relics staff of Right Alxa Banner first discovered the Mandela Mountain rock painting cluster during a banner-wide cultural heritage survey, followed by the first field investigation in May of the same year and a second comprehensive survey in 2003. Incomplete statistics from heritage records record over 6,000 individual paintings.
- 1989: The Cultural Relics Institute of Right Alxa Banner compiled and published the picture album Rock Paintings of Right Alxa Banner.
- October 5, 1991: Qiao Yingzhamsu and A. Bayandala from the institute attended the 1991 Annual Conference of the International Committee for Rock Art and Ningxia International Rock Art Symposium.
- September 1994: The paper Mandela Mountain Rock Paintings, authored by Fan Rongnan of the institute, was published in Rock Art Newsletter, issued by China Rock Art Research Center.
- May 1995: Chinese Rock Art Studies, chief-edited by Professor Ge Shanlin from the Inner Mongolia Institute of Archaeology, was officially released, containing detailed documentation of the Mandela Mountain rock paintings.
- August 25, 1998: During an on-site inspection, Professor Anati, former Executive Chairman of the International Federation of Rock Art Organizations, exclaimed: “Mandela Mountain Rock Paintings rank first in Asia and second in the world, truly a treasure trove of human art.”
Gradually gaining worldwide renown for their long chronological span, massive quantity, dense distribution, rich subject matter and profound academic value, the rock paintings are rare gems within global rock art heritage and praised as “living fossils of the fine arts world”. On May 28, 1996, the People’s Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region designated them a provincial-level Major Historical and Cultural Site (third batch). Every rock painting here has been assigned a unique serial number and supported by complete scientific archival records, granting each work its official “identity document”.
Chronicles of Ancient Tribes
Based on pigment analysis and hydrological research, experts infer that thousands of years ago, Mandela Mountain was encircled by lakes with luxuriant water and grass. Countless nomadic and hunting tribes multiplied and thrived here, leaving traceable historical marks. The exquisite, vivid artistic patterns carved across the mountain’s rock faces record the histories of these ethnic communities.
One masterpiece titled Multiplication and Prosperity fully depicts the origin and development of an ancient tribe. The composition opens with a man and a woman uniting to form a family, bearing children who later establish their own households. This cycle repeated generation after generation, as descendants lived, herded and hunted on the land, eventually forming a large unified ethnic tribe.
Themes of the Rock Paintings
Animal motifs dominate the Mandela Mountain rock paintings, including goats, argali, blue sheep, stone sheep, domestic sheep, antelopes, horses, donkeys, mules, camels, cattle, deer, buffalo, dogs, wolves, leopards, tigers, foxes, snakes, turtles and various birds. Additional scenes feature large-scale hunts, encircling hunts, nomadic herding, dancing, architecture, archery battles, mating, childbirth, the sun, moon, stars, plants and trees.
Carving Techniques
Three primary carving methods were adopted: chiseling, grinding and line engraving. The simple, childlike depictions capture both real-life observations and inner imagination, brimming with naive, rustic natural beauty. They achieve a distinctive artistic balance: liveliness within solemnity, subtle variations within neat composition.
Renowned for delicate craftsmanship, lifelike patterns and vivid imagery, the rock paintings document the economy, culture, daily life, natural environments and social customs of ancient and early modern Alxa. The distinguished Chinese rock art scholar Professor Ge Shanlin dubbed them “living fossils of the fine arts world”. Such a vast, densely concentrated collection of rock paintings is extremely rare nationwide and globally.
Other Rock Painting Clusters in Alxa
Beyond Mandela Mountain, major rock painting sites across Alxa include:
- Biqigetü Rock Paintings: Over 300 works on the southern slope of Biqigetü Mountain, 13 kilometers north of Altan Ovoo Sumu, Right Alxa Banner.
- Hairhan Rock Paintings: Roughly 300 paintings on Hairhan Mountain, 30 kilometers west of Tamsagbulag Sumu, Right Alxa Banner.
- Sharama Rock Paintings: More than 1,000 works etched on black rock across a 3-square-kilometer mountaintop zone of Sharama Mountain, 13 kilometers northwest of Eken Hudug Gacha, Mangenbulag Sumu, Right Alxa Banner.
- Camel Mountain Rock Paintings: Over 3,000 rock artworks on Camel Mountain, Tengger Eris Sumu, Left Alxa Banner.
- Bayannorg Rock Paintings, Left Alxa Banner.
Fifteen additional rock painting sites scatter across Right Alxa Banner: Hairhen Rock Paintings in Tamsag Town, Arsleng Pass Rock Paintings in Achao Sumu, Biqig Arglengtai Rock Paintings in Altan Ovoo, Shuangjingzi and Longshou Mountain Rock Paintings in Eribugai, Shibutula and Sharama Rock Paintings in Mangen, and Bubushou Rock Paintings in Yabrai. Dating back over 30,000 years, Yabrai’s Bubushou Rock Paintings were described by Professor Ge Shanlin as “China’s oldest artwork”.
Collectively referred to as the Badain Jaran Desert Rock Paintings, Alxa’s ancient rock art stands out for its wide distribution (found across all local mountain ranges), ultra-high density (especially concentrated in Right Alxa Banner), massive volume (tens of thousands of pieces), and extraordinary chronological span from the Neolithic Age through the Ming and Qing dynasties. These unparalleled ancient artworks offer abundant, authentic, unaltered physical research materials for archaeology, ethnology, history, paleoastronomy, fine arts, history of science and technology, animal husbandry history, religious studies and other disciplines.
On December 19, 2001, the article “Nearly Half of Mandela Mountain Rock Paintings in Alxa League Damaged and Lost” was published in Issue 279 of Daily Brief, issued by the Information Division of the General Office of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Government. The report drew high attention from senior regional leaders, who issued important written instructions on December 20 and December 30 respectively.
On January 12, 2002, the Regional Cultural Relics Department conducted an on-site survey of the Mandela Mountain Rock Painting Reserve and proposed recommendations for relevant authorities to strengthen protection and management without delay. On March 20, 2002, the People’s Government of Right Alxa Banner issued and implemented the Interim Measures for the Protection of Rock Paintings and Stone Carvings in Right Alxa Banner, and founded a dedicated Rock Painting Protection and Management Station. Since then, protection work has followed legal procedures under organized supervision, with no further theft of rock paintings occurring to this day.
Far from desolate in ancient times, this land was once a paradise where numerous ethnic groups forged civilizations, and the rock paintings of Right Alxa Banner stand as crystallizations of that brilliant civilization. Dense concentration, compact composition, clear imagery and diverse carving techniques are the defining traits of Alxa rock art. Geographically, historically and ethnically, they belong to the Alxa Cultural Circle within the western prairie cultural system.
II. Ticket Information
Discount Policies
- Children under 1.2 meters tall (exclusive of 1.2 meters).
- Persons with disabilities (holders of the PRC Disability Certificate issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs; those with physical disabilities need not provide extra documentation).
- Journalists at provincial level and above (three valid certificates required: staff ID, press card and personal ID card).
- Senior citizens aged 70 and above (valid personal ID card and senior citizen card required).
- Tour guides holding national tour guide certificates.
III. Transportation Guide
Travel Options
Self-driving or vehicle rental available
Landmark Reference
212 kilometers east of Badain Jaran Town, Right Alxa Banner
Self-Driving Directions
Accessible via Provincial Highway S317, 212 kilometers from Badain Jaran Town, Right Alxa Banner
Parking Lot
Capacity: 40–50 vehicles; designated parking zone inside the scenic area
Public Transport
Gas Station
Fuel available within the banner’s main town area
IV. Service Guide
Suitable Visitors
Young adults, middle-aged people and children
Sightseeing Value
Adventure Intensity
Recommended Gear
Hiking shoes, water bottle, camera
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