The Ming Tombs 
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UNESCO listed it as one of the World Heritage sites in 2003.
The Ming Dynasty lasted from 1368 to 1644. The first Ming Emperor had his tomb built in Nanjing, the town, which he had chosen for his capital. As his eldest son died early, his grandson succeeded in the throne, and he became the second emperor.
His fourth son, the Prince of Yan, was guarding the northern frontier near Beijing with an army 100,000 strong. The second emperor attempted to weaken his uncle's forces but was met with counter attacks. After a 3-year war he was ousted and lost track off completely. So, the fourth son, the Prince of you, became the third emperor, Emperor Yongle, of the Ming Dynasty.
As a frontier commander, he was aware that a peaceful northern frontier was of great importance to the Ming regime and the unification of the country. Yongle (everlasting happiness) (1360-1424, reigned 1402-1424) moved the capital to Beijing in 1421. Along with the construction of the Imperial Palace, he chose this valley to build his tomb. All his successors followed his example and had their tombs built here, except Emperor Jingtai (1450-1456) who was dethroned and buried in the western suburb of Beijing. Out of the sixteen emperors in the Ming Dynasty, thirteen lie here with their empresses and concubines. The site was chosen with the greatest care, with geomancy* taken into account. The tombs are located about 50 kilometres to the north of Beijing. They are scattered over a basin approximately 40 square kilometres in area, screened by mountains on three sides and open to the Beijing Plain in the south. The road leading to the tombs is guarded by two hills, the Tiger Hill on the left and the Dragon Hill on the right. It was a forbidden ground except for those who were officially in charge of its upkeep. It was not allowed to cultivate land, cut wood or to take stones from here. No one could enter it on horseback, even the emperor himself had to dismount at the gate.
We are now riding on the road leading to the tombs. The road was opened up in 1979 with the increase in the number of Chinese and overseas visitors. Along the road, we'll find the Memorial Arch, the Big Red Gate, the Tablet House, the stone animals and statues, Lattice Gate (Dragon and Phoenix Gate) the 7-Arch Bridge and the Ming Tombs Reservoir. We'll also see a lot of fruit trees planted after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
* Geomancy Feng Shui, literally "Wind and Water" is that which cannot be seen and cannot be grasped. It is a system of dragonology, a "science" using the shape of nature objects such as rivers, hills and trees. It was possible to choose the desirable sites for tombs, houses, and even cities. It was also able to foretell the fortunes of any community family or individual according to the spot selected, people believed in the past that a geomancer was able to counteract evil influences by good ones and to save whole districts from devastation by floods, pestilence and so forth. Fengshui was the Chinese system of geomancy. The positioning of a building or tomb in relation to the natural landscape was believed to influence the fortunes of the occupants. Many buildings have been designed in consideration of ancient fengshui, or wind-water beliefs. The alignment of walls, doors, desks and even beds, is crucial for balancing the eight elements of nature and the spirit of the Yin (female-passive) and Yang (male-active) forces that control our world. Note the large number of fish tanks in offices. Chinese people believe that if you can't look out over water (good feng shui) then you bring the water inside.
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This road was known as shendao ，meaning "the Way of the Spirit." The body of the dead was carried over the route at funeral ceremony. It is 7 kilometres long, from the Memorial Arch to the gate of the main tomb--Changling (the tomb of the third Ming emperor).
The Memorial Arch , built of white marble, was erected in 1540. It is 14 metres high and 28.86 metres wide, and has 5 arches supported by 6 pillars with beautiful bas-relief carvings of lions, dragons and lotus flowers. Double lintels link the six pillars. The roofing is made of round marble tiles, with upturned corners. "The Way of the Spirit" used to pass beneath the Memorial Arch. It is the largest memorial arch still in existence in China.
The Big Red Gate was built in 1426. It used to have three huge wooden doors. The deceased emperor used the central opening alone, and living ministers and imperial family members had to use one of the side openings when they came to pay homage to the deceased emperors.
About 457 metre from the Big Red Gate stands the Tablet House built in 1435. A marble column, known as huabiao (ornamental columns erected in front of palaces, tombs, etc. ), stands at each corner of the Tablet House. A huge tablet, 7 metres high, stands in the middle of the house on the back of a tortoise. The front side bears an inscription by the fourth Ming emperor. On the reverse side is an inscription carved during the reign of the Qing emperor Qianlong. It described the reconstruction of the Ming tombs in 1785 and commented on the rules and styles of the Ming Tombs.
Now we come to the famous avenue of stone animals and statues. Stone animals and statues are found at the entrance to imperial tombs from the Han Dynasty onwards, but none of the groups is as famous as that of the Ming Tombs.
The avenue starts with two columns, called wangzhu in Chinese, one on each side. They are hexagonal, carved with a cloud design, and the top is shaped like a round cylinder. The animals are lions (symbol of power), xiezhi (symbol of justice ) was a mythical beast of the feline family, said to be able to distinguish right and wrong; qilin (kylin, Chinese unicorn) was a sort of imaginary animal with a scaly body, a cow's tail, deer's hooves and only one horn on its head, (qilin presenting auspices, and exorcizing evil spirits ), elephant( symbolizing auspices and peace ), camel ( symbol of transportation ), horse ( standing for expedition ), military officers ( representing imperial body guard generals ), civil officials ( standing for emperor's close ministers ), ministers of merit( symbolizing meritorious civil and military officials ). These pairs of the animals alternately standing and sitting. The bold and simple style of carving is typical of the Ming period (1368-1644).
With "the Way of the Spirit" turning slightly, the statues appear: two military officers wearing sabres, two civilian officials and two ministers of merit. There are six statues on each side and twelve in all. These animals and statues all date from the 15th century. It is interesting to compare them with those at the tomb of the first Ming emperor in Nanjing, which are scarcely any older and yet much less fine. They were all meant to serve the dead in the next world. They do give people a sense of solemnity on the way leading to the Tombs.
Beyond the Dragon and Phoenix Gate are the paths to the separate tombs each ending with a Minglou (Visible Tower), the tallest building in the Further on are the tumuluses, and beneath them are the stone "underground palaces" where the emperors' coffins lie.
On your right is the Ming Tombs Reservoir, one of the 17 large and medium sized reservoirs built in Beijing since 1949. The 627-metre-long and 29 metre-high-dam was built in less than five months in 1958. The late Chairman Mao Zedong (1893-1976), the late Premier Zhou Enlai (1898-1976) and other leading members of the Chinese Government came to join in its construction. During the construction, 400,000 volunteers including workers, farmers, business people, students, soldiers, government cadres, foreign deplomats and foreign friends were involved in the project. The reservoir's total area is 300 hectares (750 acres). The project cost 16 million yuan (US$1. 935 million). It provides water for irrigation in the Beijing area and works the turbines of a hydro-electric power station. It can generate 1.2 billion kilowatt each year. In Beijing area, there are altogether 83 reservoirs with a total capacity of 9.27 billion cubic metres of water.
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