Mingxiao Tomb



Mingxiao Tomb is located in Nanjiang, which was once the capital of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) of
China. The tomb was constructed for the first emperor of Ming Dynasty, the Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. Lying in
the south of Zhongshan Mountain the tomb’s construction started in 1381 and took 25 year to complete. It is
the resting place for the emperor and his wife, Queen Ma. In 2003, the mausoleum was selected as a site for
the World Famous Cultural Heritage.

One of the most mysterious legends opened up the possibility that this mausoleum might not be the real tomb
where the emperor’s physical body was buried. It was said that after the emperor died, following the memorial
service, there were 14 funeral processing going on, carrying 14 coffins to diverse directions at the same time.
Nobody knew which one was the true funeral processing that carried the emperor's real corpse to his highly
secret tomb.

More than 600 years have passed, much of the wooden part of the mausoleum has been damaged and lost but the main layout still exists and the
majestic ambience still intact. The architecture, stone carvings and steles of the mausoleum are the valuable relics of the Ming Dynasty. The layout
of the tomb incarnates the ceremonial system, but it makes people thinking that it reflects the imperial power and feudal politics at that time.

The mausoleum consists of two parts; the front and rear, both surrounded by a 45-kilometer stonewall. The mausoleum was heavily constructed
and fortified. The front begins from the horse dismounting area commonly used during its inception, and ends at the Sifangcheng (Rectangular
City). Visitors can study the stone animals guarding the tomb, a pair of decorative columns, or the couples of ministers and generals that have
stood there for centuries to accompany their Majesty along his sacred voyage. The rear includes a portal, a stele inscribed with 4 Chinese
characters written by Emperor Kangxi during his third inspection tour, Xiaoling Hall, and Bao City. Emperor Zhu and his queen were buried
beneath Bao City.

The imperial mausoleums in Beijing, Hubei and Hebei were built following the design and scale of the Mingxiao
Ling Mausoleum, to which was a tour de force of genius craftsmanship and also an outcome of maturity of China' s
ancient culture and architecture.