The Ming Tombs (Shisan Ling)

After their deaths, all but three of the sixteen Ming-dynasty emperors were entombed in giant underground vaults, the Shisan Ling (literally, thirteen tombs, usually called the Ming Tombs in English). Two of the tombs, Chang Ling and Ding Ling, were restored in the 1950s; the latter was also excavated. Th tombs are located in and around a valley 40km northwest of Beijing. The location, chosen by the third Ming emperor, Yonghe, for its landscape of gentle hills and woods, is undeniably one of the loveliest around the capital, the site marked above ground by grand hails and platforms. That said, the fame of the tombs is overstated in relation to the actual interest of their site, and unless you’ve a strong archeological bent, a trip here isn’t worth making for its own sake. The tombs are, however, very much on the tour circuit, being conveniently placed on the way to Badaling Great Wall.

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