The Eastern Qing Tombs located
in Zhunhua County of Hebei Province is one of the best¡ªpreserved
imperial burial grounds in China and also a famous cultural
site. In the mountains ringing area, the Death Valley buried
161 royalties in total including five emperors: Shunzhi, Kangxi,
Qianlong, Xianfeng and Tongzhi. Covering an area of 2,500
square kilometers, Eastern Qing Tombs become a miracle because
of the grandest scale, the most complete system as well as the
most proper layout. The
construction of the Eastern Qing Tombs began in 1661. All together
it took 272 years from 1663 when Emperor Sunzhi, the first emperor
after the Manchus establishing their regime in Beijing, was
buried in the large cemetery to 1935 when the last imperial
concubine was interred to complete.
The Eastern Qing Tombs
consists of two parts: the Front Site and the Rear Dragon. The
Front Site is the place where the large cemetery lies covering
an area of 48 square kilometers. And the Rear Dragon is propitious
mountain area starting from the Great Wall behind the tombs.
Both of them have close relationship with the Natural Topographical
Features of the Area, which is a concept of an ideal resident
for both the living and the dead developed by geomancers. The
Eastern Qing Tombs obey the principle of geomancy absolutely.
It goes like this: Changrui Mountain serves as the shelter in
the north, Jinxing Mountain serves as a screen in the south,
Yingfeidaoyang Mountain and Huanghua Mountain as the guard standing
straight in the east and the west oppositely, and Xida River
just flows nearby. It¡¯s a typical ¡° land of four divinities¡±.
The
structures in Eastern Qing Tombs are magnificent. On the way
to the entrance of the tomb, there is stone archway, sculptures,
Grand Palace Gate, the Hall for Changing Clothes and so on.
The most wonderful part is the underground palace: designs and
decorations are unparalleled; numerous objects that burial along
with the dead emperors and the royal family members are unique.
But only the burial chambers of Yuling and the Tomb of Cixi
have been open up to the common.
In 2000, UNESCO included
the Eastern Qing Tombs and its counterpart¡ªthe Western Qing
Tombs in the World Heritage List.
Xiaoling
Xiaoling, the most important
and oldest tomb of the Eastern Qing Tombs, was built for Emperor
Shunzhi and his two empresses. As Emperor Shunzhi was the first
emperor after the Manchus crossed the Great Wall and entered
Beijing, Xiaoling set an example for his later generations.
Consisted of 28 groups of buildings, Xiaoling is 5,600 meters
long from the Stone Archway to the entrance of the tomb.
Jingling
Jingling was for
Emperor Kangxi, the second emperor after Manchus entered Beijing,
and four empresses and an imperial concubine. Jingling is grand
in scale, exquisite in decoration and perfect in layout. This
tomb was the first time that the empress died before the emperor,
and then was interred to the underground palace waiting for
the emperor and the other concubines.
Emperor Kangxi¡¯s
reign was the longest one in Chinese
history. Being the greatest potentate, Emperor Kangxi put down
the rebellions both in Xinjiang Province and Mongolia, went
on expeditions in the southern part of China for six times,
unified Taiwan and pacified Tibet during his 61-year reign.
Emperor Kangxi made great achievements not only in politics
but also in the field of culture and science, thus began the
Kang¡ªQian Prosperous Period in Chinese history. 
Yuling
Yuling was the tomb for
Emperor Qianlong, two empresses and three concubines. As the
federal economic was just in its greatest prosperity, Yuling
was ahead of the other tombs in scale and quality. And it took
more than fifty years to accomplish.
Easten Dingling
The tomb got its name as
it located in the east of the Dingling, which was the burial
ground of Emperor Xianfeng. Two empresses, Ci¡¯xi and Ci¡¯an were
buried in Easter Dingling. The tombs separated by a ditch were
in the same plan and the same scale. And the constructions began
in the same year.
