Guangxi rock paintings protected and restored

Like modern day snapshots in a photo album, our ancestors recorded their lives and beliefs in colorful murals painted on rock faces. The ancient rock carvings of Huashan Mountain in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will now be protected from the ravages of time. A conservation effort has been launched with initial government funding of 30-million yuan.

For two thousand years, these primeval works of art have been subject to erosion, geological movement and human activity. They suffered a great deal of damage as weathering peeled off the rock's surface and faded the once vibrant colors. Crevices in the rocks have added to the degradation.

Conservation experts say that like humans, rocks also age with time. The rock carvings of Huashan Mountains are now very old and without proper protection may be lost forever.

The local government has studied and experimented with conservation methods for 18 years to find the appropriate ways to protect the venerable art. Beginning this week, the first stage of the work will focus on reinforcing cracks on the main body of the rock paintings. The entire project will be undertaken over five years and will be handled in three stages. During the work, tourists will have to view and appreciate them from a long distance.

Centuries ago, China's ancestors painted and carved pictures on rocks to record their lives and myths. China's rock paintings are among the most widespread and richest in the world -- some date back two-thousand years. The Huashan Mountains in southern China are just one area that features a wealth of such wonders.

Hailed as a major wonder of ancient China, the Huashan Mountains rock paintings faithfully record the natural environment and practices of the ancestors of the local Zhuang People, revealing social conditions, their way of life, religious rituals.