Western Xia Mausoleums

The Western Xia mausoleums include nine imperial mausoleums and about 250 tombs of imperial relatives and officials of the Western Xia dynasty. The burial complex occupies an area of some 50 km2 (19 sq mi) at the foot of the Helan Mountains some 40 km (25 mi) westward from the capital city of the Western Xia, Xingqing, what is modern-day Yinchuan, now capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwestern China. Some 17,000 m2 (180,000 sq ft) have so far been excavated, and efforts are underway to secure and preserve the remains of a poorly understood era.