Guizhou Province, located in southwest China, boasts numerous mountains and valleys. Over the sweep of history, local people have created many calligraphic and painting works on cliffs and rocks, leaving much information about the culture and traditions of the ancient society.

Cliff Painting in Guanling Niujiaojin

Cliff paintings of Guizhou are mostly distributed along Chishui River in north Guizhou. In ancient times, salt that Guizhou people fed on were all imported from the neighboring province of Sichuan and Chishui River was the most convenient waterway to transport it. In order to pray for safety, Buddhist figures were carved on cliffs along the river. Buddhist statues also appear on cliff rocks of other parts of the province, which were created against natural shapes of rocks.

An image of deer in the rock paiting of Huamaya Cliff

During the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), important official documents and announcements as well as village rules were often carved on stone tablets so that they could be handed down to generations to come. Those stone tablets on cliffs, either in Chinese or in local ethnic languages, provide valuable references for the study of indigenous ethnic cultures and societies as well as the spread of Han culture in the region.

An image of tigers in the rock paintings of Maolaoke

Among thousands of cliff carvings, stone tablets featuring village rules on environment protection boast the largest number. Those local rules were mostly involved with the protection of forests as well as mineral resources and water conservancy facilities, facilitating the study of the relationship between local ethnic groups and the natural environment in Guizhou. There are also many stone tablets recording wedding and festival traditions and customs of local ethnic minorities.

An image of bull in the rock painting of Wushan Moutain

Ethnic minority groups in Guizhou tended to govern people's behaviors and social order by village rules. Many village rules stipulated that those violating rules would be published by incantations. With such penalties, local people could well regulate their conducts.
Rock paintings in Guizhou's caves are also distinctive. For instance, many artifacts of the Paleolithic Age have been excavated and rock paintings featuring human figures, birds and beasts discovered in Peach Blossom Cave, now designated as the key cultural heritage site under the provincial-level conservation. On the cliff in Zhenfeng, with the height of 10 meters and the width of 50 meters, dozens of images, including wild boar, deer, human figures and hands, are painted in reddish brown, presenting a panoramic scroll of hunting and fishing scenes. Those rock paintings vividly demonstrate life of local ethnic groups living two thousand years ago.

"Fishing", cliff carving in Xishui

Rock painting on the cliff of Dayanjiao

During the Song-Yuan-Ming period (960 - 1644), ancestors of some ethnic groups in Guizhou lived a nomadic life, which is vividly expressed in rock paintings on Horse Cliff in Guanling. Images of human figures, horses, dogs, birds and other animals now are still visible. In addition, rock paintings in this region also feature farming life of ancient people, with the sun, farmlands and farmers carrying farming tools. The rock painting "Seven Horses" describes a seven-horse caravan holding cargos on their backs and trekking through paths on cliffs.

"Horses" in rock painting of Huamaya cliff

An image of two men riding horses

Rock paintings in Guizhou are mostly drawn in reddish brown and a few of them are carved on cliffs. They reflect the life and production of ancient societies and spiritual and cultural life of ancient people. For example, rock paintings in Painted Horse Cliff are considered a historical panorama on life of ancient ethnic groups. This set of rock paintings describes the celebrations of a local festival and vividly depicts some 150 images, including human figures, horses, trees, caves, cranes, birds, the sun, stars, mountain paths and clouds.

The horse is the subject that most frequently appears in rock paintings in Guizhou, because the horse is raised in a large number during the Song and Ming dynasties. According to historical records, 42,679 horses raised in western Guizhou were sent to the empire's capital as tributes within the twenty years from 1384 to 1404. Thanks to growing demands for horses, local people in Guizhou raised horses with great enthusiasm. And thus, horse grazing scenes often appear in rock paintings made during this period of time.