The Ming Tombs

The Ming Tombs, namely, Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty, are located in Changping District 50 kilometers north of urban Beijing. An almost 40 square kilometers site on the southern slope of Mount Taishou buries 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

The site was selected by the third Ming Dynasty emperor Yongle (1402 – 1424), who moved the capital of China from Nanjing to the present location of northwest Beijing. After constructing the Imperial Palace (the Forbidden City) in 1420, the Yongle Emperor decided to chose the burial site to create his own mausoleum. The Mount Taishou, a basin area enclosed at three sides by hills and one side opened to a lake, was regarded such a good geomantic (Feng Shui) place that very suitable for reserving the sprite of empire. Over the following 230 years, the site totally buried 13 emperors, 23 queens, 2 princes and over 30 concubines, until the Chongzhen who was the last emperor of Ming Dynasty to be buried here.

It may be strange that there were totally 16 Emperors in Ming Dynasty, where were the other three? Actually, the tombs of the first Ming Emperors are located near Nanjing (the capital city during their reigns). The second Emperor Jianwen absconded in a rebellion and his whereabouts became an historical mystery. Emperor Jingtai was also not buried here, as the Emperor Tianshun had denied Jingtai an imperial burial, but was instead buried west of Beijing.

The Ming tombs were built with the layout of the ancient city of Beijing, with number of landmarks and monuments located therein. A seven kilometer road named the “Spirit Way” (Shen dao) leads into the tombs. Both sides along the road lined with statues of guardian animals and officials, and ended with a front gate consisting of three arches, painted red, and called the “Great Red Gate”. The Spirit Way, or Sacred Way was constructed in 1540, which is the earliest and biggest stone archway existing in China today.