Mounds claim their rightful place in history

Researchers piece together a fascinating tale to shed light on an exceptional saga, Wang Kaihao and Wang Ru report in Yinchuan.

In 1227, this dynasty in Northwest China was finally defeated by the Mongol army after a prolonged and valiant resistance — a campaign led by Genghis Khan, who died in his frontline camp during the final assault. Xixia (or Western Xia, 1038-1227), a power lasting for 190 years and once spread across over 1.15 million square kilometers at its zenith, eventually fell in the Gobi Desert.

Established by Tangut people and inhabited by various ethnic groups, Xixia was not documented in a specific history book by its successors while most Chinese dynasties were.

However, on the foot of the lingering Helan Mountains, a group of earthen mounds, which marked the long resting places of Xixia rulers, seal an exceptional saga, not only as a footnote on how a united Chinese nation evolved and boomed, but also about a neglected legend on the Silk Road.