The Ming Tombs—The Ming Tomb is the best-preserved imperial mausoleum structure buried most emperors. Thirteen of the sixteen Ming emperors are buried in this picturesque valley with orchards and rolling hills.

The Ming Tombs —— Changling Tomb

The Chingling Tomb

Changling is the tomb of emperor Yongle (reigned 1403-1424), the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty whose personal name was Zhu Di, and of his empress. Built in 1413, the mausoleum extends over an area of 100,000 square metres. The soul tower, which tells people whose tomb it is, rests on a circular wall called the "city of treasures" which surrounds the burial mound. The "city of treasures" at Changling has a length of more than a kilometre.
The oldest of the tomb is this,Whose occupant is Emperor ChengZu.

      The Yongle Emperor (May 2, 1360–August 12, 1424), born Zhu Di, was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China from 1402 to 1424. His era name means "Perpetually Jubilant". His usurpation of the throne is now sometimes called the "Second Founding" of the Ming. He is generally considered one of the greatest emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and to be among the greatest Chinese emperors.

         He was the Prince of Yan (燕王), possessing a heavy military base in Beijing. He became known as Chengzu of Ming Dynasty (明成祖 also written Cheng Zu, or Ch'eng Tsu (Cheng Tsu) in Wade-Giles) after becoming emperor following a civil war.

The         The Gate of Ling En means the Gate to Paradise. In the second courtyard of Emperor Yongle's Tomb, you'll find the Ling En Palace which is the most imposing building in the mausoleum area. The palace stands on a 3.2 metres high, three storeyed marble foundation, with white marble steps leading to the palace hall and surrounded by white marble balustrades.
       Emperor Yongle's Tomb is now one of the three Ming tombs which are open to visitors.
       The palace is 61 metres in width and 29 metres in depth, total area is 1956 square meters, 60 gold filigree Nanmu Column support the whole palace, which matches the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City for its grandeur. This Nanmu Palace is the largest among buildings of wooden structure has stood over 500 years of wind and rain without slightest tilt or deformation.In the magnificent Ling'en Hall,there are 32 thick columns, all made from whole nanmu logs. They are considered extremely rare in the world.

In the mausoleum compound, there is an imposing tablet pavilion and the straight Divine Road lined with 18 pairs of huge and vivid stone statues of figure and animals,which are considered rare masterpieces of ancient sculpture.

Sacred Way

The Changling Tomb