A rare rock painting was recently discovered on a large stone in a country lane in the border area between Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.

There is a person, a horse, constellations and symbols seemingly representing words in the painting. The most impressive part is the person, who appears to be wearing a "helmet" with two long "plumes" inserted in both sides and an antenna-like object in the middle.

An expert said that the person looks like the aliens wearing helmets in movies and TV shows, or may simply be a chief of the ancient Baiyue tribes. Another expert believes that the rock painting was used by ancient people for telling the time and direction.

The rock painting has been listed as an important finding of Guangdong's third archaeological survey.

The stone carved with the painting is located on the Huoyaogang Hill in Fenhui Village, Silun Town, Luoding City, Guangdong Province, only 3 kilometers away from Guangxi Province. Two large stones face each other across a small stream, and are called "Parents-in-law Stones" by local people, with the rock painting carved on the one closer to the lane.

Local people said that the hill is arduous, and the other stone is enmeshed in wild vines, so it is almost impossible to check whether it has a painting or not.

Chen Dayuan, former curator of the Luoding Museum, said: "The painting portrays a primitive sacrificial rite and does not exist in any written records, and the carving techniques are very simple and old-fashioned, so it is likely to be a prehistoric rock painting. In addition, the cut on the stone is not deep at all."

Some experts wanted to make rubbings of the painting, but failed because the cut is too shallow. The painting may have been carved with stone tools, indicating that it may have been produced in the Stone Age.