With the summer holiday in full swing – and the recent inscription of the Xixia Imperial Tombs in China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site – Ningxia Museum has seen a surge in visitors. Residents and tourists alike are exploring the museum's rich exhibitions, enjoying an immersive cultural experience during their summer break.

Home to over 50,000 artifacts, Ningxia Museum showcases a wide range of treasures, including petroglyphs, bronzeware from the northern steppe cultures, Silk Road relics, artifacts of the Xixia Dynasty (1038-1227) and folk items. Among these are 156 first-grade national cultural relics of China, which reflect the diverse historical interactions and integration of ethnic groups in the region.

The museum's centerpiece, a gilded bronze cattle sculpture, exemplifies the pinnacle of Xixia's metalwork. Unearthed in 1977 at the Xixia Imperial Mausoleum in Yinchuan, Ningxia, the hollow, gold-coated sculpture captures a kneeling ox in a moment of alert rest. This masterpiece seamlessly combines sculpting, casting, gilding and polishing techniques, highlighting the advanced craftsmanship of the time and symbolizing the prosperity of Xixia's agrarian economy.

These cultural relics are more than remnants of the past—they bear witness to history. The treasures housed in Ningxia Museum not only attest to the region's former prominence along the ancient Silk Road but also illustrate the vibrant exchanges of trade and culture between China and the wider world.