Tombs and Burial Sites
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond
The construction of vast mausolea ensured that the Míng and Qīng emperors had in death accommodation nearly as luxurious as that they had in life. The main halls echo the central palaces of the Forbidden City but are sometimes made of even finer materials. Probably most visitors will be satisfied with a visit to just one of the three main sites: the Míng Tombs or Shísān Líng (‘Thirteen Tombs’), the Western Qīng Tombs (Qīng Xī Líng), or the Eastern Qīng Tombs (Qīng Dōng Líng). Each has a group of tombs in a valley or at the base of hills, and each tomb consists of a series of halls in much the same layout. They stand in sites that were originally walled but into which agriculture has long ago encroached.
The scale of each tomb varies according to the fortunes of the dynasty at the time, and few are quite alike. An initial páilou or gate-like arch may be followed by a gate building or tower containing stelae, large character-inscribed stones often carved with dragons and set into the backs of bìxì (赑屃). These are large primitive dragons often referred to as tortoises or turtles even by Chinese guides, but no conventional shelled creature ever had claws or teeth like this. The stelae pavilion may be flanked by two to four huábiǎo (see Tiān’ān Mén Square), and beyond it, sometimes through another páilou or gate, lies the spirit way. The most magnificent of these is at the Míng Tombs, with rows of alternate standing and seated statues of mythical and real animals, and civil and military officials, to either side of the path, in a protective role. At some tombs these are preceded by wàngzhù (望柱), tall, decorated stone columns with knobbed tops, which in earlier times marked the entrance to a tomb site but whose function was replaced by stone páilou, making them a purely ornamental beginning to the lines of guardian figures.
At the end of the spirit way, a further páilou may precede three- or five-arched marble bridges over a stream, which loops around the front of the main tomb site in the same manner as that beyond the main entrance to the Forbidden City. Beyond that is a further stelae pavilion. A collection of halls to the right behind their own wall were where the animals were slaughtered and prepared for sacrifice rituals, but they are not usually now open; they are hung with washing, have modern interiors, and are used as residences by the fúwùyuán (staff). Ahead, the main gate leads to the first courtyard, with tiled offering burners to the left and right looking like miniature temples in their own right, and used for burning offerings of silk. Beyond these halls on either side are where prayers were said and preparations for ceremonies made, but these now house small exhibitions of items recovered from the tomb or otherwise related to it.
Ceremonies were held on traditional days for honouring the dead and on anniversaries of the emperor’s death. The main hall, ahead, usually called the Léng’ēn Diàn or Hall of Eminent Favour, is where the ceremonies took place, and often now contains some kind of display relevant to the life of the emperor in question, or waxworks of a ceremony honouring him, including a collection of mournful animals about to go to the great farmyard in the sky. The terrace in front, similar in style to those at the Forbidden City and typically with a pavement carved with dragons running up between the stairs in the middle, also features bronzes of cranes and deer, symbols of peace and prosperity.
The tombs for emperors, empresses, and senior consorts have yellow roofs; those for concubines, where not buried with the emperor in question, are usually on a significantly smaller scale and have green roofs.
At those tombs where you are allowed to proceed further, behind the main hall you’ll find another gate in the enclosing wall that leads to a sloping path up to the tomb itself. There’s usually an elaborately carved marble altar, complete with carved offering vessels on top, and a further ornate páilou, before a short steep climb up to the soul tower. In most cases this has ridges rather than steps, said to be so that the climber is forced constantly to look down as if bowing reverentially.
The tomb itself, with some exceptions, is a mound with a circular wall around it. If the tomb chamber has been excavated and is open to the public, a ramp down beneath the soul tower takes you to it, sometimes through a series of smaller rooms, each with its own ponderous doors of solid stone. Through the soul tower, stairs to right and left lead to a walkway atop the wall, allowing you to circumnavigate the overgrown mound and gain views across the site as a whole. The soul tower contains a final stele.
Choosing which tombs to visit
The Míng Tombs are the easiest to reach, but are the most commercialised and busy, being on several tourist bus routes and included in almost all tourist itineraries, usually combined with a visit to the Great Wall at Bā Dá Lǐng. The independent traveller can easily take public buses or charter a taxi for the day, and visit not only the three tombs open to the public but also walk to those parts of the site that are merely a blur from the tourist bus windows. This includes the impressive ‘spirit way’ leading to the site, and the overgrown and atmospheric closed tombs. The only open chamber is that at the Dìng Líng, which is large but vaguely disappointing.
The Eastern Qīng Tombs have fascinating open tomb chambers, including those of the Dowager Empress Cíxǐ and the magnificently carved chamber of the Qiánlóng emperor. There are far fewer visitors here, and at weekends and on public holidays mid-April to mid-October the site can be reached on a one-day bus tour.
The Western Qīng Tombs are easier to reach by car, thanks to the Jīngshí Freeway, but are the least visited of all. The tombs are spread out, and it’s helpful although not essential to have a vehicle to get around. This was the most overgrown, least visited, and most atmospheric of all the tomb complexes, but following the misfortune of UNESCO World Heritage listing the site was tidied up and new roads driven across it to serve hoped-for crowds. Visitor numbers remain low, however.
For a well-preserved early prototype of later luxury, visit the Dàbǎotái Hàn Mù, from the Western Hàn dynasty, just south of Běijīng and reachable by ordinary public bus.
The Peking Man Site completes the set, but offers little to see.
Next in Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond: Míng Tombs
Previously: Huáng Huā Chéng Great Wall
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.
For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.
