Ming Tombs, Beijing

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The Spirit Way leading to the tombs,provides a wonderful opportunity to admire 18th-century Ming sculptures in their original contex.The site of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Tombs was carefully chosen according to Feng Shui .

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We decided to visit the Tomb of the 3rd Emperor. He was the first emperor to be buried here. His tomb is the biggest of them all. He was buried here with his wife and his 16 concubines. 13 of the 16 Ming Emperors were buried here. Many of the tombs were closed for renovation prior to the Olympics so it is best to find out which are open prior to heading out this way.

I'd give this one a B. If you have the time its probably worth a visit. If you are short then Forbidden City, Greatwall, Temple of Heaven and a half day walk around dowtown are much more rewarding. Sure its the toombs of emerors but all you see is a big hole in the ground and some replica displays. But we had the time and came and saw.

We have been conned . There are 13 of them all together , some excavated , some not escavated...so know which one to go to ...haha...but even the one which was not excavated ..we managed to see some imperial stuff ...otherwise it is a waste of time ..was rushing do didnt actually visit the Spirit Way ( a road filled with stone statues on both sides )

The Ming Tombs are a major tourist stop. It's very important to Chinese history. They are 50 km (31 miles) NW of the urban Beijing area, in Changping County. There are 13 mausoleums for 13 emperors. However, I believe you can visit only three. Still well worth a visit. Lots of gardens and scenery in between, and nice views.

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We did the Ming Tombs in between the Mutainyu and BaDaLing.

When we got there, the environment around the tomb is quite beautiful... and kind of peaceful.

Unfortunately, i'm not a very history/tombs person.. so i was not very excited about the whole thing. But i must say it's quite impressive for a tomb like that to be built..

Be prepared that when you walk all the way down to the Emperor's Tomb.. all you see is the throne and coffin.. AND THAT'S IT!!!

If you are really short of time.. ie your trip is a 2day thing.. then i think you can give this a miss...

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Ming Tombs are generally combined with a visit to the Great Wall. Otherwise known as the “13 Tombs”, this is the burial site of 13 out of 17 emperors of the Ming Dynasty. However, the only one you can get a good look at is the tomb of Emperor Wanli, who reigned from 1537 to 1620. This tomb was unearthed in 1956. There are two others that have been uncovered, but the rest remain illusive.

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There are 13 tombs but only two were open when we went, Changling and Dingling. Others had apparently flooded, or had never been repaired. The above ground buildings were generally made of wood and therefore have rotted away. Changling was renovated and mainly rebuilt 50 years ago.

The setting is about an hour's drive from the Wangfuging Road and we went by private car with a driver. The area is rural and beautiful, with tree lined roads and crop fields behind. There are mountains surrounding and according to our guide the emperors employed priests/spiritualists to search for the perfect area which balanced Feng Shui.

A lot of time, effort and money went into building these tombs. Logs were brought in from a great distance away for one of the main buildings. It took years to float the enormous logs downstream and costs many lives. These logs (of the Nanmu tree - famed in China for its unmatchable beauty) now make up columns that support the roof of the sacrificial chamber at Changling.

The tombs have an imperial road (spirit way) approaching them and a main hall for worship. Some have smaller buildings surrounding which house statues or pyres for burning tributes, and the burial chambers themselves are underground.

A piece of priceless Chinese treasure is housed here - the imperial golden crown. This is very beautiful and there are many other unearthed archaeological finds exhibited such as swords, pots and jewellery.

The architecture is very much like the forbidden city - the vermillion walls and yellow roof tiles were reserved for imperial use only - but the tombs, in my opinion, are in a more beautiful setting.

NB - the only toilets are holes in the ground, and they aren't pretty.
There are plenty of water sellers too, and trinkets.