Ming-Gräber & der Heilige Weg — Pekings Kaiserliche Nekropole
The Ming Tombs (明十三陵 — Míng Shísān Líng — 'Ming Thirteen Mausoleums', in the Changping district 50 km north of Beijing — the burial site of 13 of the 16 Ming dynasty emperors (1368-1644), UNESCO World Heritage since 2003 as part of the 'Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties'): the Ming Tombs complex (covering approximately 120 km² in a horseshoe-shaped valley enclosed by mountains on three sides — the ideal fengshui (风水 — Chinese geomancy) landscape for an imperial necropolis) contains the most extensive surviving collection of Ming dynasty funerary architecture in China.
- 1
Sacred Way (Shendao) — Stone Animal Procession
The 7km Sacred Way leading to the tombs is flanked by 36 stone figures — 12 animals in sitting and standing poses (lion, camel, elephant, qilin) and 24 military and civil officials guarding 13 emperors' eternal rest.
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Changling — The Largest Ming Mausoleum
Changling (Yongle Emperor, died 1424) is the largest and best-preserved of the 13 Ming Tombs — the Hall of Eminent Favor (Ling'en Dian) has 32 massive nanmu timber columns, each from a single ancient tree.
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Dingling — The Excavated Underground Palace
Dingling (Wanli Emperor) is the only Ming Tomb excavated — its underground marble burial chambers (1956-57) displayed the emperor's golden crown, jade belt, and 3,000 silk items. The relics are displayed in two above-ground exhibition halls.
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Mutianyu Great Wall — Best-Preserved Section
Mutianyu (90 minutes north) offers the most scenic Great Wall section — 22 watchtowers over 2.25km of restored rampart, accessible by gondola with toboggan return and minimal crowds compared to Badaling.
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Juyongguan Pass — Cloud Terrace Gateway
The Juyongguan Pass's 'Cloud Terrace' (1342) is a white marble gatehouse decorated with carvings in six languages including Sanskrit and Tibetan — a UNESCO-recognized monument on the route from Beijing to Inner Mongolia.
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Shisanling Reservoir — Great Leap Forward Heritage
The Shisanling Reservoir (1958), built by volunteer labor including Mao and senior Communist Party figures during the Great Leap Forward, is a key site in understanding both 20th-century Chinese engineering ambition and political culture.