Xincheng Wei-Jin Art Gallery

Scattered in an area of more than 20 square kilomeers east of Jiayuguan and west of Jiuquan are more than 1,400 tombs dating from the Wei and Jin periods (220-420). These tombs are brick laid and contain beautiful wall paintings. They are referred to as the largest underground gallery in the world. Excavation of some of the tombs started in 1972 in the Gobi desert in the town of Xincheng some 20 kilometers northeast of Jiayuguan. The wall paintings discovered are lifelike and succinct in style and cover a wide range of subjects including politics,economics, culture, military affairs, folk customs, and science and technology during the Wei and Jin periods. They were done earlier than those in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang and are the first Wei-Jin wall paintings ever found in China.