The Great Red Gate with three archways is the main gate of the whole imperial cemetery. A stele stands on each side of the gate with an inscription reading 'Officials must dismount from horses', which demonstrates the supremacy of the imperial power.

Further on, visitors will find a stele pavilion. At the four corners of the pavilion, there are four tall marble columns towering about ten meters (32.8 feet). Each column is engraved with forty-one dragons and has a mythical beast sitting on the top. As the story goes, the beasts facing south remind the emperor to leave the palace to observe the people's situation; while the beasts facing north summon the emperor from an insignificant outing to return to handle state affairs. Inside the pavilion, a gigantic stone beast called Bixi (one of legendary dragon's nine sons) carries on its back a stele. The stele is named the 'Merits and Virtue Stele' and has long epigraphs inscribed on it.

The Scared Way, affiliated with the Ming Tombs, is a main road leading to all the tombs in this area. The road, seven kilometers (4.3 miles) long, has a stone memorial arch, Great Red Gate (Dahongmen), a stele pavilion, stone statues and the Dragon and Phoenix Gate (Longfengmen).

7-kilometer-long Sacred Way, Beijing
The stone memorial arch serves as a preface to the divine way. Built in 1540 A.C. during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.C.), the arch is the largest and earliest of its kind. The arch, 14 meters (46 feet) high and 29 meters (95 feet) wide, has six poles and five archways. Designs of kylins (a legendary mascot), lions, dragons and mythical beasts are gracefully embossed on its surface.

Built in 1538, Zhaoling (Zhao Tomb) lies to the southwest of Ding Tomb. It is the mausoleum of Zhu Zaihou (the twelfth emperor of the Ming Dynasty and his three empresses. It is the best representation of a tomb complex because of its fully restored complete surface structures, consisting of four bridges, a stele pavilion and halls. At Ling'endian (Hall of Eminent Favor), offerings and information on this emperor and his empresses may be seen.

Scenic Spots                              Admission Fee                                             Opening Hours
                          April 1-October 31       November1-March 31
Sacred Way              CNY 30                           CNY 20                                    08:30-18:00
Changling                 CNY 45                           CNY 30                                    08:30-17:30
Dingling                    CNY 60                           CNY 40                                    08:30-18:00
Zhaoling                   CNY 30                           CNY 20                                     08:30-17:30
Bus Route:
Take Tourist bus No. 872 from Deshengmen to Changling directly;
Take bus No. 880 from Deshengmen to the South Gate of Ming Huang La Xiang Gong, and then transfer to bus No. 314 to the Ming Tombs.

Dingling (Ding Tomb) is the only one excavated in this graveyard up till now. Zhu Yijun, the thirteenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty was inhumed together with his two empresses. Constructed between 1584 and 1590, this mausoleum used to have bridges, a stele pavilion, halls and towers and annexes on the ground. Hundreds of years later, only a stone tower, Bright Tower, survives following several fires. Behind the tower is the underground palace, 27 meters (88.6 feet) in depth. Visitors may enter via a tunnel. The stone palace occupies an area of 1,195 square meters (0.3 acre) and has five halls. Gates of the main halls are made of white marble, with fine thrones in the central hall, coffins and burial chests at the rear hall. Some precious articles excavated are on exhibition like crowns, ornaments, and utensils.

The Sacred Way is seven kilometers (4.3 miles) long and leads to Changling (Chang Tomb) directly. Chang Tomb is the largest and oldest of the tombs. Construction on the mausoleum began in 1409 and lasted four years. Buried here are Zhu Di, the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and his empress. The forecourt has three courtyards and all the halls are covered with yellow glaze tiles on their roofs. The second yard was built after the Hall of Supreme Harmony of the Forbidden City. It is one of the largest wooden buildings in China and is supported by sixty unpainted poles made of nanmu. Unearthed objects are on display in this hall. Behind is a tower called Ming Lou (Bright Tower), the symbol of Chang Tomb. It connects the burial mound, the circumference of which reaches approximately one kilometer (0.6 mile).

Each emperor's tomb was constructed at the foot of a separate small hill, but they all share a main road called the Sacred Way. The thirteen emperor's mausoleums are similar in their architectural style and overall arrangement, only differing in size and complexity of their structures. They used to have a forecourt where memorial ceremonies and sacrifices were held and a tomb mound at the back. Comparatively speaking, Changling (Chang Tomb) is the most grand, Yongling (Yong Tomb) the most delicate and Siling (Si Tomb) the smallest.

Ming Tombs MapNowadays, the Sacred Way, Changling (Chang Tomb), Dingling (Ding Tomb) and Zhaoling (Zhao Tomb) are accessible to visitors.

The Ming Tombs lie in Changping County, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northwest from the urban area of Beijing. It is actually a tomb cluster of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), including thirteen emperor's mausoleums, seven tombs for concubines and one grave for eunuchs. This cemetery is world famous because of the thirteen emperors buried here. Sitting at the foot of Mt. Yan and occupying an area of more than 120 square kilometers (29,653 acres), it appears extremely spectacular. It was listed in the World Heritage List in 2003.

The Hundred-Bird Garden, the only bird sanctuary in Beijing, is in this park. More than 2,500 birds such as black swans, ostriches, red-crowned cranes and green peafowls are bred in the garden. At the east end of the park is the largest marsh in the urban area of Beijing. The marsh, overgrown with carpets of water lily, bulrush and flagleaf, provides a wonderland to escape from the bustling city life.

Every year, the Chinese Flowering Crabapple Festival, which is held in the park in April, lures thousands of visitors to enjoy the spectacle of more than 2,000 flowering Chinese crabapple trees. Body-building equipment, a bar street and wash rooms provide convenience for visitors.

Admission Fee:
Free
Bus Route:
104, 108, 117, 124, 426, 644, 758, 850, 858 to Wuluju (五路居), then you could walk to the Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Park (元大都城垣遗址公园).

Strolling in the park from west to east, visitors can read a mural displaying poems which praise the beauty of flourishing trees in dim fog under the blue sky in ancient times. In a square, archaized forts and sculptures of horses and ancient coins represent the invulnerability and prosperity of the Yuan Dynasty. A group of human sculptures including Kublai Khan (the founder of Yuan Dynasty) and the famous Italian traveler Marco Polo, illustrates the peak of the dynasty.

The Hundred-Bird Garden, the only bird sanctuary in Beijing, is in this park. More than 2,500 birds such as black swans, ostriches, red-crowned cranes and green peafowls are bred in the garden. At the east end of the park is the largest marsh in the urban area of Beijing. The marsh, overgrown with carpets of water lily, bulrush and flagleaf, provides a wonderland to escape from the bustling city life.

With a length of 9 kilometers (6.6 miles), the Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Park extends across Haidian and Chaoyang districts from west to east and is the largest linear park in Beijing. The moat dug in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) flows through the park and divides it into two parts connected by six bridges. The north section is the city wall relics protected area and the south section is planted with trees, flowers and grass dotted with sculptures, pavilions and murals.

As its name suggests, this park was built on the city wall relics of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The original city wall was 600 meters (656 yards) long constructed of rammed-earth in which poles and crossbars were used to reinforce it. The east and west walls were built where the inner city wall of Beijing is located. The south wall spanned from east to west today's Chang'an Street while the north wall was 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from the Anding Gate (Andingmen). Visitors can find the city wall relics in the Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Park in Haidian District. In addition, the whole park shows the prosperous Yuan Dynasty through murals and sculptures.