THE MING TOMBS

Fifty kilometers north of Beijing lies one of the most important historical and cultural sites in China - a necropolis that contains the mausoleums of thirteen of the sixteen emperors of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

They are the expression of the most powerful and cultured period in 3,500 years of Chinese imperial history. They stand at the highest level of historical record for the most eminent period of China’s past, an outstanding testimony to an architectural tradition that dominated east Asia for over five hundred years.

The mausoleums reflect the rules of social hierarchy and the concept of power that were prevalent in the late feudal period of Chinese history. Their design embodies perfectly the principles and practices of ancestor veneration, the most important belief system in Chinese society.

The tombs display a reverential respect for the landscape in which they have been placed, their planning and design and their disposition around the valley epitomising the philosophical idea of harmony between man and nature that lies at the heart of the principles of fēng shuĭ.

The buildings, the streams beside which they stand and the mountains at the feet of which they nestle are a masterful combination of architectural and environmental aesthetics. There is a balance between the architecture and the surroundings that produces a most pleasing visual stability. 

Relatively few visitors, either domestic or foreign, visit the Ming Tombs. But as the Chinese government engages in a decades-long program of restoration and reconstruction of the site, now inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the necropolis is emerging from centuries of obscurity to bear witness once again to the might and the magnificence of Ming China.