Overview
The Ming Tombs (Shisan Ling) occupy a valley at the foot of the Tianshou Mountains in Changping District, roughly 50 kilometres northwest of central Beijing. The Yongle Emperor, who built the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven, chose the site in the early 15th century for its geomantically auspicious basin opening south toward the capital. Thirteen of sixteen Ming emperors (from Yongle to Chongzhen) were buried here in individual tomb complexes, each with a spirit way (shendao) of stone animals and officials leading to a ceremonial gate and burial mound.
Changling, Yongle's tomb, is the largest and most visited: its above-ground halls rest on marble terraces, and the underground palace (not always open) follows a layout of vaulted chambers with thrones and ritual vessels for the deceased emperor and empresses. Dingling, the tomb of the Wanli Emperor, was excavated in the 1950s — a controversial dig that yielded silk textiles and crowns but taught conservators harsh lessons about opening waterlogged royal chambers.
The Sacred Way (shared approach road) lines up stone camels, elephants, lions, and civil and military officials in pairs, dramatising the emperor's procession into the afterlife. UNESCO inscribed the Ming Tombs in 2000, 2003, and 2004 as part of the serial Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Pair with the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven on a Beijing heritage circuit.