Xia mausoleums working for world heritage status

THE royal mausoleums complex of the emperors in the Western Xia Dynasty (1038-1227) has been making every effort to apply for world heritage status.

The burial complex, located at the foot of the Helan Mountain, 30km west of the city of Yinchuan, capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is the bestpreserved and largest cultural heritage site from the Tangut civilization.

The Tangut civilization was built by the Tangut people, an ethnic minority group, and prospered in an agriculturalhusbandry area in northwest China between the 11th and 13th centuries.

Based on characteristics of the mausoleums, archaeologists found that the layout of the tombs was the same as the imperial tombs of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

There are nine imperial mausoleums, 271 subordinate tombs, a large building site and dozens of brick-and-tile kiln sites in the 58-square-km mausoleum area.

“The mausoleums are a special witness to the existence of the long-vanished Tangut civilization with excellent adaptability and outstanding cultural diversity,” said Wang Changfeng, deputy director of the management department of the tombs.

“The Western Xia Imperial Tombs are extremely important for history, archeology, architecture and the protection of cultural relics,” Wang added.

The local government and related departments have invested more than 700 million yuan (US$102 million) in cultural relics protection, and environment and infrastructure improvement since the application project started seven years ago.

So far, nine imperial tombs and more than 40 subordinate tombs have been reinforced. A new museum has also been completed.

The protection of the rammed earth site is challenging, due to the unstable structure, and wind and rain erosion. Different locations and diverse natural conditions of the site require different approaches. Experts conducted extensive scientific research to determine the best strategy for each location.

The burial complex has cooperated with Dunhuang Academy, a national comprehensive institution responsible for the conservation, management, and research of the world-famous grottoes in the city of Dunhuang in neighboring Gansu Province.