Paintings found on a large cliff along the Mingjiang River in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are believed to be the largest in the world.
Over 1,900 pictures depicting colorful human figures, animals, metal instruments, boats and roads were inscribed on the 170-meter-tall, 90-meter-wide cliff on Huashan Mountain.
Archeologists believe that these paintings were carved by Luoyue people, ancestors of the Zhuang ethnic group. The Luoyue lived in the area during the Eastern Han Dynasty(25-220).
The cliff paintings, which have weathered the rains and storms in about 2,000 years, still carry flamboyant color and vivid pictures.
Experts explained that the sunken cliff was discreetly chosen for the paintings. Its upper fringe in the shape of a roof effectively kept the rain from eroding the engraved paintings.
The site is now relocated in a nature reserve set up especially for white-headed leaf monkeys, which are one of the most endangered species in the world.
(People's Daily 01/12/2001)
