An online article in China.org.cn reports that Chinese archaeologists have discovered over 40 rock paintings in north-western Gansu Province. Researchers believe these will shed light on prehistoric nomadic behaviour.

Found in the Chijinshan Valley near Jinchang City, the paintings depict human faces, animals and hunting scenes. They were painted on the cliffs, and remain well-preserved, according to the Gansu provincial cultural heritage administration. As yet, no images of the rock art are available.

Researchers believe the majority of the prehistoric paintings were created in the period between the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 BC - 221 BC) and the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), similar to the 200 rock paintings discovered in Jinchang in the 1990's. However, previous archaeological findings have shown that Gansu has been inhabited since at least 6,000 BC. 

Located in the north-west of China, between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, Gansu connects the Chinese heartland with the vast desert region to the northwest. Covering a total area of around 450,000 sq.km, Gansu borders 6 different Chinese provinces or autonomous regions: Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Shaanxi, as well as having a border with Mongolia.

The 'Hexi Corridor' is an east-west route which runs through the heart of the province, connecting China to Central Asia and the West. The Hexi Corridor eventually became a key leg of the Silk Road, an important trade route that made Gansu important not only as a center of economic trade, but as a place of cultural and religious exchange. As the silk trade grew, so did the trading posts along the Hexi corridor, many of them forming the major population centers of Gansu today. 

To visit the China Rock Art Archive:

http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/china/index.php