Yinshan rock painting of Inner Mongolia autonomous region is a valuable cultural heritage recording the vanishing prehistoric civilization of China.[Photo by Yang Wenzhi/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Listed among the key preserved cultural relics of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Yinshan rock painting is a valuable cultural heritage recording the vanishing prehistoric civilization of China.

Traced to 30,000 years ago, the rock art demonstrates how the ancestors of various ethnic groups record their lives, expressed themselves and communicated feelings.

The rock paintings scatter over a wide area. The densest area is located in Bayannuur city, stretching over 340 kilometers from east to west. Over 100,000 paintings were found here.

The themes of the rock paintings include the hunting activities of the nomadic nationalities. Among the rock paintings, the most common and most finely drawn ones are pictures of hunters or animals like goats, sheep, hounds, horses, wolf and even some species that were already extinct.