Ming Tombs, Beijing

This is one of the first buildings on the Sacred Way. It houses a 50-ton stone tortoise supporting a stone tablet. On each of the four corners of the grounds surrounding this pavilion is a large stone monument.

It was so peaceful even with the hoards of tourists in Beijing, and was a delight. Thirteen out of the 16 Ming emperors are buried in this valley. Chongling's tomb is one of two tombs open to the public. The others are not restored. At the entrance to Chongling's tomb there is a smaller version of the Hall of Supreme Tranquility of the Forbidden City. This is a museum and houses some of the relics from the tombs: gold chopsticks, plates, head pieces, crowns, etc. The hall is held up with single tree columns. We walked up one huge level of the tomb from which we could see one of the other tombs in the distance.

The Ming Tombs are pretty impressive, even though only one of the 13 has been excavated. The main one has many interesting buildings, including the Soul Tower (pictured here.)

The beauty of the buildings, and the artifacts are pretty amazing, since there is nothing like them in the west. Take some extra time to walk around the mound and get a good look at the site, also a great view of the area is available from the Soul Tower.

As you are making your way to and from the Ming Tombs, don't miss the heavenly road. Many of the guided tours will not take you there, or if they do there is an extra charge. It is well worth the extra bicks to see it though.

The road itself forms a perfectly straight line that runs from the Ming Tombs in the north, down through the heavenly road through the forbidden city (Still in a straight line), through Tienanmen, and then continuing the striaght line to the temple of heaven.

The part of the road you want to focus on, for the purposes of this review, is near the ming tombs. The road contains many beautifully carved statues and gardens. The picture on the main Beijing page with the girl with the umberlla was taken here, as is the picture on this page.

The statues are cool! There is one of a tax collector, he is holding a tablet with the names of actual people who were delinquent in their taxes back hundreds of years ago! Each statue is amazing in its size and detail should not be missed.

The Sacred Way inside the gate of the Ming Tomb is lined with 18 pairs of stone human figures and animals. These include four each of three types of officials: civil, military and meritorious officials, symbolizing those who assisted the emperor in the administration of the state, plus four each of six types of animals: lion, griffin, camel, elephant, unicorn and horse. These represent different animals found in the various parts of the Ming Empire.

During the Ming Dynasty established by Han Chinese coming from an agricultural society in central China, where people believed the existence of an after-world, where the dead "lived" a life similar to that of the living. Ming emperors, therefore, have grand mausoleums built for themselves.

Known for its fine porcelains, a Chinese invention, the Ming era is also one of important deeds. The emperors built the Imperial Palace in Peking, reconstructed and extended the Great Wall, and dispatched sea-going vessels to explore Southeast Asia and the Red Sea. Ming society became a sophisticated urban and commercial one, dominated by highly cultivated literati and prosperous merchants.

Ming Tombs Valley and the Spiritual Road (photos in, details later, 2002-June-24)

UNESCO World Heritage report on Ming and Qing dynasties tombs:
http://whc.unesco.org/sites/1004bis.htm

More later

The great red entrance - The holy lane of animals and guardians leading and protecting the Ming Graves.
The lane is about 6.4 km long and many statues of animals and guardians are shown.
Emperors just passed away, had to pass the red portal where you can see an enormous sculpture of a turtle - symbol of a long life.