Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty

Xiaoling Tomb, or the Tomb of Filial Piety, built 600 years ago, is the mausoleum of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Lying at the southern foot of the Purple Mountain, the tomb complex is one of the largest ancient mausoleums of the emperors of in China.

The mausoleum consists of two major sections. The first section is from the Gateway of dismounting Horse to the Lingxing Gate at the end of Sacred Way (tomb avenue), of which the approach is 1800 meters long. Historical records indicate that the mausoleum had a grand red wall, 22.5 kilometers long, enclosing the whole tomb area. Unfortunately, this large group of buildings was ruined by wars in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties and the war in which Taiping Peasant Army was suppressed by the Qing Dynasty. All the wooden structures were destrolyed. However, we can still see the exquisite stone carvings from the stone bases and imagine how magnificent it looked like 600 years ago.

Northwards from the Great Golden Gate, a huge roofless stone Golden Gate, a huge roofless stone tablet pavilion can be see, it is the Square Castle, as local people call it. Its top is gone but the surrounding walls and four archways still remain. In the middle of the building, there stands an 8.78 meters stele.

Behind the tablet pavilion (the Square Castle) is the sacred way, which is lined on both sides with 12 pairs of giant stone animals in 6 kinds. For each kind of the animals, there are one pair standing and the other kneeling. The standing pair is working and the kneeling resting and they are on duty alternately. The real purpose of building these animals is to demonstrate the royal magnificence and the emperor's diginity, to drive away evil spirites and guard the tomb. The first 2 pairs of animals are lions, king of the beasts symbolizing power. The second 2 pairs of animals are called Bi Xie, a unicorn-shaped mythical animal, said to be clever and capable of distinguishing between good and evil. The following pairs of animals include camels, elephants, kylins or Chinese unicorns and horses.

On the south of Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum is the Meihua (Plum Flower) Mountain, which was formerly the tomb of Sun Quan, emperor of Dongwu. The mountain is covered with more than 10,000 plum flowers and it is always one of most attractive resorts for Nanjing visitors who appreciate the flowers in spring. Its scenic spots include the Plum Appreciation Pavilion and Bo'ai (Extensive Love) Pavilion.

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