Xixia Imperial Tombs 西夏陵

About Xixia Imperial Tombs

Their surviving rammed-earth cores were once parts of more elaborate buildings. Walled enclosures and the position of the mounds reveal a planned funerary landscape, with Buddhist and Chinese architectural influences. The site entered UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2025. Begin with the museum so the low ruins are easier to interpret outdoors.

Western Xia's founder Li Yuanhao (李元昊) founded the dynasty in 1038 and reburied his grandfather and father at the eastern foot of the Helan Mountains, in the tombs Yuling (裕陵) and Jialing (嘉陵). Mongol forces destroyed Western Xia in 1227 and severely damaged the tombs; some were later looted without success. The site appeared in 1938 aerial photographs taken by a German pilot, Wulf-Dieter Graf zu Castell.

A full excavation ordered by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (中国国家文物事业管理局) began in 1972. By 2014 tomb No.7's occupant had been identified as the Western Xia emperor Renzong, Li Renxiao (李仁孝); mausoleum No.3 was attributed to the dynasty's founder and combines mausoleum and temple styles with Buddhist features. The site was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位) in 1988, and its museum was relocated outside the protected area in 2019.

The tombs lie 30 kilometres west of Yinchuan on an alluvial fan at the eastern foot of the Helan Mountains, at 1,150 to 1,220 metres, across 50 square kilometres of gravel-and-sand ground that helped preserve them through several major earthquakes. Nine imperial tombs, some on the plain, others against the mountain, face south and cover over 100,000 square metres, with rammed-earth mounds up to 30 metres across once coated in brick with tiled eaves.

What to look for

• Rammed-earth tomb cores survive within planned walled enclosures.
• The Helan foothill setting remains integral to the cemetery landscape.

Location & getting there

Getting to Xixia Imperial Tombs

Travel west from Yinchuan to the Xixia Imperial Tombs visitor centre. Use the current museum and sightseeing-transport arrangements; the individual tomb map points are protected archaeological locations, not separate drive-up entrances.