During your china travel, don’t forget to include your visit to the Ming Tombs as part of your Beijing Tours as it is a place where history is written and stored. I was on tour to Ming Tombs during the weekend and the place just blew me away. So many stories to read and so many sites to see that you will need an energise brain and comfortable walking shoes when walking around Ming Tombs as the area is very big. The view at the place is also very beautiful so I suggest that you would bring your camera as well.
Picture of Ming Tombs
Slight information about the Ming Tombs:
The Ming Tombs is located in a broad valley to the south of Tianshou (Longevity of Heaven) Mountain in Changping County, about 50 kilometres northwest of Beijing proper. To the southwest of this valley, a branch of the Yanshan Range suddenly breaks off and forms a natural gateway to the 40-square kilometre basin in which the tombs were built. This gateway is “defended” on each side by the Dragon and Tiger hills, which are said to protect this sacred area from winds carrying evil influences. Thirteen out of the 16 Ming emperors are buried in this peaceful valley.
Ming Tombs Memorial Archway
When touring in the Ming tombs, we first passed by an elegant, five-arched white marble memorial archway. It was built in 1540 and it is 29 meters wide and 14 meters high. Attached to it has a delicate carvings of lions, dragons, and lotuses, and it is still in near-perfect condition. About one kilometre to the northeast of this archway stands the Great Red Gate (Dahongmen), which is the outermost gate of the entire mortuary complex.
The largest and best preserved tomb is the Changling. It is built on a south-facing slope and the Changling’s three courtyards are entirely surrounded by walls. The first courtyard extends from the massive three-arched entrance gate to the Gate of Eminent Favor (Long’ enmen); on the east of this courtyard stands a pavilion, which contains a stone tablet, a stone camel and a stone dragon.
There are lots to see besides the Tombs, for example, you can check out the Ding Ling treasures and other artefacts from the Ming Dynasty and the Wanli Emperors. There are also a lot of things that were made of gold and different types of emperor’s crown that are displayed there.
Crown of Empress
So Travel to Beijing now and have a tour to Ming Tombs and be amaze at this must-see destination!
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I think after seeing the tombs, a visit to the Great Wall is a good idea also:-).