A visit to the Ming Tombs

Situated out near the Tianshou Mountains, some 50 kilometres northwest of Beijing. the Ming Tombs may be a bit off the beaten track for many tourists but it is well worth making the trek out to view the necropolis of some of China's great rulers of the past — monarchs who ruled from 1368 through to 1644.

Apart from the tombs of 13 Ming Dynasty emperors, the tombs of seven concubines and the tomb of a eunuch are also situated in the valley. According to UNESCO, the Ming Tombs' area was worthy of being listed as a World Heritage Site because it offers a number of unique attractions.

The tombs, which took more than 200 years to construct, show the harmonious integration of remarkable architecture set in a natural environment. And, what makes this natural environment particularly fascinating is that it was selected to meet with the ancient rules of geomancy, or Fengshui, thus making the imperial tombs a masterpiece of human creative genius.

According to Fengshui, bad spirits and evil winds that descended from the North had to be deflected and so an arc-shaped area at the foot of mountains north of Beijing was selected. Today, the Ming Tombs offer us dazzling insight into the beliefs, world view and geomantic theories prevalent in feudal China. The tombs offer the visitor the opportunity to not only view the burial edifices of great historical figures, but experience what was the theatre for major events during the course of China's rich and gripping history.

The Ming Tombs area covers some 80 square kilometres. The three main tombs that draw tourists are Changling, Dingling and Zhaoling. Changling mausoleum is undoubtedly the most magnificent of the three main tombs here. Changling is the tomb of Emperor Zhu Di, often referred to as Emperor Yongle. It is also the burial site of his wife, Empress Xu. In fact, it was after the death of his wife, Empress Xu, at the age of 45, that Emperor Yongle ordered the building of the mausoleum out in this valley. This tomb alone took 18 years to construct.