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The Ming Tombs are located about 31 miles
northwest of Beijing. The site was carefully
chosen by the third Ming Dynasty Yongle emperor
Zhu DI (1402-1424). His father and founder of
the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, was buried in
Nanjing. His nephew, the second Ming Emperor,
from whom he usurped the throne, escaped and
disappeared from official history.
After Yongle moved the capital city from Nanjing
to Beijing and constructed the Imperial Palace
(Forbidden City), he selected an arcshaped
area at the foot of the JunDu Mountains for his
burial site and built his mausoleum. It took 18
years to complete. Changling, 2 1/2 miles from
the entrance, is the tomb of emperor Yongle
and empress XuShi. It is surrounded by sixteen
satellite tombs for Zhu DI's concubines. The
Tumulus (underground burial chamber) has not
yet been excavated.
Thirteen Ming emperors were buried with
their empresses and concubines in this
40squarekilometer area between 1424 and
1644. It is the most extensive necropolis of any
Chinese dynasty. Three tombs have been excavated
and restored to date: Changling, the largest;
DingLing, whose underground palace is open to
the public, and ShaoLing.
The Tombs are constructed with memorial halls
in the front and burial chambers in back. The
entire site is surrounded by a wall. A seven
kilometer road named the Sacred Way leads into
the complex. The main entrance to the valley is
the DaHongMen (Great Red Gate) constructed in
1540. This Sacred Way starts with two hexagonal
columns called WangZhu on either side. They are
carved with a cloud design. The tops are shaped
like a rounded cylinders.
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