41 sites · 17 provinces
Imperial and noble burials, from spirit ways lined with stone figures to excavated underground palaces.
41 of them here, grouped by region. 15 carry a UNESCO listing. Chinese addresses are given as they are written, which is the form to show a driver. See all seven kinds, or the background on what is above ground and what is not.
4 sites
North China (华北)
| Site | Period | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Ming Tombs (Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty) (明十三陵)UNESCOA 40-square-kilometre valley holding 13 imperial tombs, including a nanmu hall recorded as the world’s largest and the only excavated Ming emperor’s underground palace.(北京 昌平区 天寿山麓) | Ming | 3-5h · Best Apr-Oct |
| Eastern Qing Tombs (清东陵)UNESCOFive Qing emperors buried in a mountain valley, including Qianlong’s underground palace covered in Buddhist carvings and Cixi’s gold-leafed funeral hall, famously looted in 1928.(河北 唐山 遵化 昌瑞山) | Qing | 4-5h · Best Apr-Oct |
| Mancheng Han Tombs (Prince Zhongshan) (满城汉墓（中山靖王墓）)Two Han Dynasty tombs carved into a mountain, discovered by soldiers in 1968, containing China’s first complete jade burial suits and the famous Changxin Palace Lamp, a 2,100-year-old eco-friendly smoke-absorbing lamp.(河北 保定 满城 陵山) | Western Han | 1.5-2h · Best Apr-Oct |
| Western Qing Tombs (清西陵)UNESCOFour Qing emperors in a quiet, forested valley, far less crowded than the Eastern Tombs, with the last imperial tomb ever built in China and exquisite nanmu wood halls.(河北 保定 易县 永宁山) | Qing | 3-4h · Best Apr-Oct |
4 sites
Northeast China (东北)
| Site | Period | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| General’s Tomb (Goguryeo, Tomb of King Jangsu) (高句丽将军坟（长寿王陵）)UNESCOThe “Oriental Pyramid”, a 13.1-meter-tall, 7-tiered stepped pyramid built from 1,100 precision-cut granite blocks around 414 AD, the best-preserved tomb of the Goguryeo kings, where King Jangsu, who moved the Goguryeo capital from Ji’an to Pyongyang in 427 AD, was buried.(吉林 通化 集安市 东北约 4 公里龙山脚下（集青公路与将军路交汇处）) | Goguryeo (Northern & Southern Dynasties period) | 1-1.5h · Best May-Oct |
| Fu Mausoleum (Qing, Shenyang) (清福陵（东陵）)UNESCONurhaci’s mountain tomb featuring the legendary “108 Steps”, each step representing a star from the 36 Heavenly Gods and 72 Earthly Fiends, climbing up Tianzhu Mountain.(辽宁 沈阳 浑南区 东陵路 210 号天柱山南麓) | Qing (Later Jin / early Qing) | 1.5-2.5h · Best Apr-Oct |
| Yong Mausoleum (Qing) (清永陵)UNESCOThe Qing dynasty’s smallest but most senior imperial tomb, four ancestral emperors buried under wooden gate and horse-hoof-shaped burial mounds, next to Nurhaci’s first capital.(辽宁 抚顺 新宾满族自治县 永陵镇西北启运山南麓) | Ming / Qing | 1-1.5h · Best May-Oct |
| Zhao Mausoleum (Qing, Shenyang) (清昭陵（北陵）)UNESCORecorded as the largest of the three Shengjing imperial tombs, Huang Taiji’s castle-like mausoleum with 2,000 ancient pines, showing Manchu, Han and Mongol architecture fused before the Qing conquest.(辽宁 沈阳 皇姑区 泰山路 12 号北陵公园内) | Qing | 2-3h · Best Apr-Oct |
12 sites
East China (华东)
| Site | Period | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Lu Xun Tomb (鲁迅墓)The tomb of Lu Xun, whose Diary of a Madman of 1918 opened modern Chinese fiction. A 1,600-square-metre granite memorial in a Shanghai park, with a bronze of the writer seated in a rattan chair.(上海 虹口区 四川北路 2288 号鲁迅公园内（中部西侧）) | Republican Era / PRC (reburied) | Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Mausoleum of Genghis Khan (成吉思汗陵)The world’s only 800-year-old continuously-ceremonied imperial memorial, a Mongol-yurt-shaped mausoleum guarded by the Darhad clan, where Genghis Khan’s soul (captured in camel wool) is still honored with daily rituals.(内蒙古 鄂尔多斯 伊金霍洛旗 伊金霍洛镇甘德尔敖包) | Mongol Empire / Qing / Modern | 2-2.5h · Best May-Sep |
| Zhaojun Tomb (Qingzhong) (昭君墓（青冢）)The tomb associated with Wang Zhaojun, the Han woman married to a Xiongnu chief in 33 BC under a marriage alliance that held about 40 years. A 33-metre earthen mound, called the Green Grave because the grass on it stays green late.(内蒙古 呼和浩特 玉泉区 209 国道旁（南郊大黑河畔）) | Western Han (legendary) / Modern | 1.5-2h · Best May-Sep |
| Western Xia Imperial Tombs (西夏王陵)UNESCO“Oriental Pyramids”, the tombs of a lost Tangut empire erased by Genghis Khan, with a mysterious undeciphered script and desert silhouettes that look like they belong in Egypt.(宁夏 银川 西夏区 贺兰山东麓) | Western Xia (Tangut) | 2-3h · Best May-Oct |
| Confucius Cemetery (Konglin) (孔林（至圣林）)UNESCORecorded as the world’s oldest continuously used family cemetery, 100,000 graves across 78 generations and 2,500 years, with Confucius under a plain mound among imperial steles and old cypresses.(山东 济宁 曲阜市 林道路（曲阜城北 1.5 公里）) | Spring & Autumn / Han-Qing (continuous) | 1.5-2h · Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Chuwang King Mausoleum at Shizishan (Lion Mountain) (狮子山楚王陵)A 2,100-year-old cave palace carved into a mountain, a Western Han Chu king’s tomb with a 4,000-piece gold-thread jade burial suit and nearby terracotta army, all in one scenic area.(江苏 徐州 云龙区 兵马俑路 1 号 汉文化景区) | Western Han | 2.5-3h · Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum (明孝陵)UNESCOThe tomb of China’s only peasant-born emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, featuring a 600-year-old sacred way with 24 stone animals that uniquely bends around a Three-Kingdoms king’s tomb.(江苏 南京 玄武区 紫金山南麓石象路 7 号) | Ming | 2.5-3.5h |
| Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum (中山陵)A 392-step “Liberty Bell” shaped mausoleum for Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China, designed by a 36-year-old architect who died before seeing it completed.(江苏 南京 玄武区 紫金山（钟山）中茅峰南麓石象路 7 号) | Republican Era | 2-3h · Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Tomb of Marquis of Haihun (Liu He) (海昏侯墓（南昌汉代海昏侯国遗址）)The tomb of Liu He, emperor for just 27 days, yielding 378 gold objects, 2 million coins, the earliest known portrait of Confucius, and a lost chapter of the Analects, in China’s richest Han archaeological park.(江西 南昌 新建区 大塘坪乡 紫金城城址) | Western Han | 3-4h · Best Mar-Nov |
| Xianshuiyan Cliff Tomb Cluster (Longhushan Hanging Coffins) (龙虎山仙水岩崖墓群)UNESCO205 cliff tombs carved into Danxia cliffs 20-100m above the Luxi River, the 2,600-year-old burial ground of the tattooed, boat-building Yue people, yielding China’s earliest known 13-string zither and a Warring-States oblique loom, with a daily reenactment of the 1989 Sino-American coffin-hoisting experiment.(江西 鹰潭 贵溪市 龙虎山风景名胜区仙水岩（206 国道旁，鹰潭市区西南约 20 公里）) | Spring & Autumn / Warring States | Best Mar-Jun, Sep-Nov |
| Mausoleum of Yu the Great (Kuaiji Mountain) (大禹陵（会稽山大禹陵）)The legendary tomb of Yu the Great, China’s flood-taming hero and founder of the Xia Dynasty, with a Han-dynasty burial stone (2nd century AD inscriptions) and a 4-meter Ming stele from 1540, at the foot of Kuaiji Mountain.(浙江 绍兴 越城区 二环南路 会稽山麓) | Legendary / Ming-Qing / Modern | 2-3h · Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Tomb of Yue Fei (岳飞墓（岳王庙）)UNESCOA tomb that still draws strong feeling, where the wronged patriot Yue Fei lies beneath a green hill while four bronze statues of his murderers have knelt facing his grave for 500 years, inside the West Lake UNESCO cultural landscape.(浙江 杭州 西湖区 北山路 80 号（栖霞岭南麓）) | Southern Song / Qing (rebuilt) | 1-1.5h · Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
8 sites
Central China (华中)
| Site | Period | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Gaoling Mausoleum of Cao Cao (曹操高陵（安阳高陵）)The real tomb of Cao Cao, a figure still argued over, found in 2009 after 1,000 years of “72 fake tombs” legend, with inscribed stone tablets naming “King Wu of Wei” and a new 2023 site museum.(河南 安阳 殷都区 安丰乡西高穴村) | Eastern Han / Cao Wei | 2-2.5h · Best Mar-Nov |
| Guanlin (Tomb of Guan Yu) (关林)China’s only temple-tomb-cemetery complex honoring Guan Yu, the defeated general deified over 1,800 years into the “Warrior Saint” paired with Confucius, where his head was buried by Cao Cao in 220 AD with full noble rites.(河南 洛阳 洛龙区 关林南街 2 号) | Three Kingdoms (legendary) / Ming-Qing | 1-1.5h · Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Northern Song Imperial Tombs (Gongyi Song Mausoleums) (北宋皇陵（巩义宋陵）)Seven Song emperors buried in wheat fields, nearly 1,000 stone statues standing among crops, from the restored city park at Yongzhao to the untouched rural site at Yongding.(河南 郑州 巩义市 西村·芝田·市区·回郭镇四陵区) | Northern Song | Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Yuan Shikai Tomb (Yuanlin) (袁林（袁世凯墓）)China’s only intact tomb of a Republican-era president, a 1916-18 Sino-Western hybrid mausoleum where stone statues wear Republican military uniforms, the tomb mound is ringed by Roman columns, and the man buried inside served as China’s first formal president and its shortest-reigning emperor (83 days).(河南 安阳 北关区 胜利路（洹水北岸太平庄）) | Republican Era (Beiyang period) | 1-1.5h · Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (Leigudun Tomb No.1) (曾侯乙墓（擂鼓墩一号墓）)The 2,400-year-old tomb that yielded 65 bronze bells capable of playing a full 12-tone scale, a find that reset the study of early Chinese music, still in its original 13-meter-deep rock pit.(湖北 随州 曾都区 擂鼓墩大道 44 号 擂鼓墩东团坡) | Warring States (Zhou) | 1.5-2h · Best Mar-Nov |
| Xianling Mausoleum (明显陵)UNESCOThe only Ming imperial tomb with two burial mounds, built by an emperor who fought his entire court for three years to elevate his father to imperial status.(湖北 荆门 钟祥 纯德山) | Ming | 2h · Best Mar-Nov |
| Mausoleum of the Yan Emperor (Shennong) (炎帝陵（神农炎帝陵）)The southern counterpart of the Yellow Emperor’s Mausoleum, legendary tomb of Shennong, inventor of agriculture and Chinese medicine, with a Song-dynasty-founded temple (967) and Ming-Qing imperial memorial steles.(湖南 株洲 炎陵县 鹿原镇鹿原陂（县城西约 19 公里）) | Legendary / Song-Qing / Modern | 2-2.5h · Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Mawangdui Han Tombs (马王堆汉墓)A 2,100-year-old noblewoman’s intact tomb holding a 49-gram silk robe thinner than a cicada’s wing, a T-shaped cosmic painting, and manuscripts of Laozi recorded as the oldest surviving, all excavated in 1972.(湖南 长沙 芙蓉区 马王堆街道（墓坑遗址在马王堆医院院内；出土文物在湖南省博物院「长沙马王堆汉墓陈列」，开福区东风路 50 号）) | Western Han | 2.5-3.5h |
1 site
South China (华南)
| Site | Period | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Mausoleum of the Nanyue King (南越王墓（西汉南越王博物馆）)A 2,100-year-old king’s tomb found under a Guangzhou building site in 1983, holding what is recorded as China’s oldest imperial seal, and Persian silverware showing the maritime silk road already ran 2,000 years ago.(广东 广州 越秀区 象岗山) | Western Han / Nanyue Kingdom | 1.5-2h · Best All year |
2 sites
Southwest China (西南)
| Site | Period | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Hanging Coffins of the Bo People (僰人悬棺)295 coffins hung 26 to 100 m up a cliff, the funerary custom of the Bo, who were wiped out by a Ming campaign in 1573. How the coffins were placed is still unresolved.(四川 宜宾 珙县 洛表镇麻塘坝（核心区）及曹营镇苏麻湾) | Song-Ming | Best Mar-Jun, Sep-Nov |
| Mahao Cliff Tombs (麻浩崖墓)UNESCOA 1,900-year-old vertical city of the dead, 544 Han-dynasty cliff tombs carved into red sandstone, including China’s earliest known Buddha image (37cm, 2nd century AD) and a high-relief “Jing Ke Assassinating the King of Qin” scene, right next to the Leshan Giant Buddha.(四川 乐山 市中区 凌云路 2435 号（乐山大佛景区内南侧）) | Eastern Han | 1-1.5h · Best Mar-Jun, Sep-Nov |
10 sites
Northwest China (西北)
| Site | Period | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Baling Mausoleum (Tomb of Emperor Wen of Han) (汉文帝霸陵（江村大墓）)The tomb of Emperor Wen of Han, founder of the “Rule of Wen and Jing”, whose true location was only confirmed in 2021 after 700 years of misidentification, a rare case of archaeology rewriting history.(陕西 西安 灞桥区 狄寨街道江村 白鹿原西端) | Western Han | 1-1.5h · Best Mar-Nov |
| Han Yangling Mausoleum (汉阳陵（汉景帝阳陵）)A Han emperor’s tomb with a museum built directly over the excavation, walk on glass floors above 2,100-year-old pottery figurines being unearthed in real time.(陕西 咸阳 渭城区 咸阳原) | Western Han | 2h · Best Mar-Nov |
| Maoling Mausoleum (Emperor Wu of Han) (茂陵（汉武帝茂陵）)The tomb of the Han emperor Wu, with 2,100-year-old stone carvings at Huo Qubing’s tomb that are China’s earliest surviving monumental sculptures.(陕西 咸阳 兴平 五陵原) | Western Han | 1.5-2h · Best Mar-Nov |
| Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor & Terracotta Army (秦始皇陵及兵马俑坑)UNESCOAn 8,000-strong terracotta army guarding the tomb of China’s first emperor, every soldier has a unique face, created 2,200 years ago and forgotten until 1974.(陕西 西安 临潼区) | Qin | 3-4h · Best Mar-Nov |
| Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor (Xuanyuan) (黄帝陵（轩辕黄帝陵）)China’s “Ancient Tomb No.1”, the legendary burial mound of the Yellow Emperor, with 80,000 ancient cypresses including a 5,000-year-old tree said to be planted by the emperor himself, and a 1937 Mao Zedong memorial inscription.(陕西 延安 黄陵县 桥山) | Legendary / Various | 2.5-3h |
| Qianling Mausoleum (乾陵)The shared tomb of China’s only female emperor Wu Zetian, with a famous blank stele, 61 headless foreign ambassadors, and the only Tang imperial tomb never looted.(陕西 咸阳 乾县 梁山) | Tang | 2-3h · Best Mar-Nov |
| Qiaoling Mausoleum (Tomb of Emperor Ruizong of Tang) (桥陵（唐睿宗桥陵）)A 625-metre spirit way lined with 47 colossal Tang stone carvings, listed as the largest such set among the 18 Tang imperial mausoleums, and almost never crowded.(陕西 渭南 蒲城县 桥陵镇安王村 丰山（唐称桥山）) | Tang | 2-3h · Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Tailing Mausoleum (Tomb of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang) (泰陵（唐玄宗泰陵）)The tomb of Emperor Xuanzong, creator of the Kaiyuan Golden Age, built after the An Lushan Rebellion, its stone carvings visibly smaller than his father’s, with only one loyal eunuch as burial companion.(陕西 渭南 蒲城县 椿林镇 金粟山南麓) | Tang | 1.5-2h · Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Tomb of Zhang Qian (张骞墓)The tomb of Zhang Qian, the man who “pierced the void” of Central Asia and opened the Silk Road in 138 BC, a 2,100-year-old Han tumulus with original stone tigers, a 1776 stele, and the “Bowang” clay seal that confirmed its identity in 1938.(陕西 汉中 城固县 博望街道饶家营村) | Western Han | 1.5-2h · Best Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
| Zhaoling Mausoleum (Emperor Taizong of Tang) (昭陵（唐太宗昭陵）)The tomb of Emperor Taizong, founder of the Tang Golden Age, with the famous Six Steeds reliefs, two of which were stolen and now sit in a Philadelphia museum.(陕西 咸阳 礼泉 九嵕山) | Tang | 1.5h · Best Mar-Nov |
Which of These Are Worth the Detour
Some of these sit inside cities and take two hours; others are a half day off the expressway and worth it only if the period interests you. Tell our local team your route and they will say which ones fit and which are better left.