The Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The tombs of the Ming Dynasty (1368 1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644 -1911) were built based upon the ancient art of Feng Shui. The Chinese believed that man has a fundamental part of nature.

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

Xian Tomb:

Prince Xingxian and his wife were buried here. The Prince and his wife were the mother and father of Emperor Jianqing. Jianqing had reigned as Emperor of China from 1522 until 1566. Today, the tomb can be found at Mt. Songlin in Zhongxiang County, Hubei Province.

The Xian tomb is surrounded by high walls and sits on approximately 136.47 hectares of land. Construction of the tomb had commenced in 1519 and had ended in 1540. The Xian tomb is similar to the Ming tombs, although it is a lot smaller in size and it is often referred to as the 15th Ming Tomb.

Xiaoling Tomb:

Xiaoling tomb is the burial site of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Nanjing and his wife, the empress. The tomb is situated on the southern side of the Purple Mountain in Nanjing. The structure of the tomb had taken twenty five years to complete. The structure had commenced in 1381 and had ended in 1405. It has been said that the structure had taken over 100,000 people, military and local, to build the tomb.

Ming Tombs (Shisanling):

The Ming tombs are located 44km to the North West of Beijing, in Tianshou Mountain. Tianshou is translated as Longevity of Heaven.’ Within the Ming tombs, thirteen emperors and twenty three empresses of the Ming Dynasty are buried here, along with twelve prominent concubines. The interior of the tomb look very much like the interior of the royal palaces. The peoples of this time held the belief that the deceased’s soul still remains here on earth and still requires the same material needs as he/she had in life.

Dingling Tomb:

The Dingling tomb is the resting place of Emperor Wanli, who had reigned as emperor from 1537 until 1619. During the year of 1956, the Dingling tomb had been excavated by an archaeology team. Amazingly, the tomb was in very good condition, with its marble archways, the great red gate and statues of a dragon and phoenix all in a pristine state. Pine and cypress trees that had been planted at the time of the construction of the tomb can still be seen today.

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

Dong Tombs:

Situated 125km east of Beijing, lies the first royal tombs that had been built by the Manchu rulers of China. The tomb itself has two segments, called Houlong and Qianquan. The Houlong begins from the Great Wall of China and continues along side of Mt. Shaozu. The Qianquan tombs stand on forty eight square km of land and are surrounded by a high wall complete with a red gate. The toms are the burial site of fourteen emperors and fourteen empresses, princesses and imperial consorts.

Xi Tombs:

The Xi tombs are situated 100kms west of Beijing. The construction of the tombs had commenced in 1730 and is the resting place of Emperor Yongzheng who had reigned from 1723-1735. The Xi tombs are also the resting place of emperors Jiaqing (1796-1820), Guangxu (1875-1908) and for a number of imperial consorts and empresses. The last tomb to be built in the Qing dynasty was for emperor Xuantong. Construction had not been completed before the Qing dynasty had ended.