Beijing Off the Beaten Path Tips by margaretvn

The Ming Tombs are scattered over an area of 40 square kilometres, and are 50 kilometres northwest of Beijing in Changping country. They are the tombs of the thirteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty. They were built over a period of about 200 years from 1409 when Changling Tomb was started until about 1644 when Siling Tomb was completed. The underground parts of Ding Ling are the only one, which has been excavated so far and is open to the public. This is the tomb of the 13th Ming emperor Zhu Yijun and his two empresses. The tomb is 27 metres underground and is made up of five rooms and there are unearthed funeral objects on display. The Ming Tombs are open every day but I found that the whole thing had a bit of a circus feel to it with places where you could have your photo taken is costume of the Ming Dynasty, piped music everywhere and lots of souvenir stalls. The Royal road and the open tomb are interesting though.

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