Located in the northwest of Beijing and over 40 miles away from the downtown, the Thirteen Tombs of Beijing, also called “Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Emperors”, is the general name of the thirteen tombs of emperors in the Ming Dynasty, and also the largest existing mausoleum built for emperors in ancient China. The Ming Tombs, sited in a picturesque place with green hills surrounded, have become a world-famous tourist attraction.

The layout of the mausoleum is closely combined with natural environment factors such as mountains and rivers, with each of the tomb built against the mountain and facing the river. Though the tombs differ in size and the number of buildings, their layout and burial system are almost the same: the plane is rectangular, with a round (or oval) Precious City at the back. The buildings start with a stone bridge, followed in order by the Lieling Gate, the stele pavilion, the Ling’en Gate, the Ling’en Hall, Bright Building (Minglou), the Precious City (Baocheng), etc. Located in front of the highest peak of the Tianshou Mountain, the Changling Tomb is the biggest one, and the other tombs were built on both sides of the Changling Tomb in a fan shape (with Siling a little bit westward). In the middle of the mausoleum area is the Changling Tomb’s seven-kilometer long Divine Path connected with the other tombs.

The total area of the mausoleum is about 120 square kilometers. The architecture of Changling is the most magnificent and imposing, while the Zhaoling Tomb, ranked the ninth, is the most complete and representative ground burial palace among the thirteen tombs. Arranged on both sides of the Divine Path of Changling, the 18 pairs of huge stone figures and stone beasts are elaborately carved and vividly made, which are the symbols of the guards of the emperors before death, and precious ancient arts as well.

Built from 1409 to 1644 and spanning over 230 years, the Thirteen Tombs of Beijing buried altogether 13 emperors, 23 empresses, two crowned princes, 30-odd imperial concubines, and a eunuch, making it a comparatively well-preserved mausoleum in the world with the largest number of emperors buried in. In July 2003, the Thirteen Tombs and the Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing were officially inscribed on the World Heritage List by the 27th session of the World Heritage Committee of the UNESCO.