Hebei · Five Emperors, and a Vault You Can Walk Into
Eastern Qing Tombs (清东陵)
The larger of the two Qing imperial burial districts, two and a half hours east of Beijing. The approach runs for kilometres before it reaches a tomb, and in one of the tombs you can go down into the burial chamber.
Quick Facts
The Short Version
| What it is | An imperial burial district holding five Qing emperors, their empresses and consorts, in a valley ringed by hills |
|---|---|
| Where | Zunhua, under Tangshan, in Hebei, about 125 km east of Beijing |
| Heritage status | Added by UNESCO in 2000 to the listing for the Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing dynasties |
| Who is here | Shunzhi, Kangxi, Qianlong, Xianfeng and Tongzhi, with published figures putting the total buried across the district at over a hundred and fifty people |
| The approach | A ceremonial way running several kilometres from a stone archway through a great gate, a stele tower, columns, eighteen pairs of stone figures and a seven-arched bridge |
| The famous one | Cixi, the dowager empress who governed for much of the late Qing, is buried here in a tomb rebuilt to an unusual standard of decoration |
| What happened in 1928 | Troops under a warlord commander dynamited and stripped the tombs of Qianlong and Cixi |
| Time needed | A full day, and a car. The district is large and the tombs are far apart |
Why Go
The Road In, and What Was Taken Out
1. Most of it happens before you reach a tomb
Qing imperial burial was an act of procession. The route begins with a marble archway, passes through a great red gate that frames the valley, past a stele tower and a pair of carved columns, and then between eighteen pairs of stone figures standing along a paved way: elephants, camels, horses, mythical beasts, then civil officials and generals. After the figures comes a bridge of seven arches, and only then the first tomb.
It runs for several kilometres and it is the best part of a visit here. Walk it rather than driving between car parks: the sequence is designed to slow you down, the statues are individually carved and worth looking at closely, and the sightline from the great gate up the valley to the hills is the whole argument for why this site is where it is. Qing geomancy wanted hills behind, hills on both sides, and water crossing in front, and this valley supplies all of it.
2. You can go down into a burial chamber, and you should know why
In 1928, in the disorder between the fall of the dynasty and the consolidation of a new government, troops commanded by a warlord officer blew open the tomb of Qianlong and the tomb of the empress dowager Cixi and stripped both. The looting was thorough and much of what was taken has never been traced. It was a national scandal at the time and it remains one.
The consequence for a visitor is unusual. Because the vaults were forced, they have stayed open, and you can walk down the ramp into Qianlong’s burial chamber: a sequence of stone rooms whose walls and doors are carved over every surface with Buddhist figures and with sutra text in Sanskrit and Tibetan. Nothing at the Western Qing Tombs is open like this, because nothing there was broken into. It is the single strongest reason to choose this district over that one, and it is worth knowing that the access is a scar rather than a courtesy.
The catch. The district covers a very large area and the individual tombs are kilometres apart with no useful transport between them, so without a car you will see a fraction of it. Several tombs are closed, unrestored or visible only from outside. Interpretation in English is thin to absent. And it is a long way: two and a half to three hours each way from Beijing, which makes for a long day for what is, in the end, a set of tombs.
Orientation
Getting There, and Which Tombs
There is no good public transport. A car or a driver from Beijing is the practical answer and takes two and a half to three hours each way; a few tour operators run day trips. Set out early, because the useful daylight is what limits how much of the district you cover.
Do the spirit way on foot, then Qianlong’s tomb for the carved chamber, then Cixi’s for the decoration, then Kangxi’s if there is time. That is a full day. Trying to see everything means seeing the outsides of a lot of walled enclosures.
Practical
Things Worth Knowing
Walk the spirit way, do not drive it
It is the best hour here and it is the one thing most visitors skip in favour of the tombs themselves.
Bring a torch
The burial chamber is lit but dimly, and the carving on the doors and walls rewards a light of your own.
Go in winter if you can stand it
Bare trees open up the sightlines along the approach, the light is low all day, and there is almost nobody there.
Read up before you go
English signage is poor and the difference between the five emperors buried here matters to how the place reads. An hour beforehand changes the day.
Timing
When to Go
| Season | The case for | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| October to November | Clear air, low sun on white stone and comfortable walking on a long approach | The first week of October is the national holiday |
| April to May | Green returning to the valley and mild weather | North China spring dust can flatten the light |
| December to March | Bare trees, long shadows, very few people and the best visibility of the year | Hard cold, and the burial chamber is colder than outside |
| June to September | Everything open and long daylight for covering the district | Hot, humid and the busiest months |
Context
Why Two Districts, and What 1928 Meant
The Qing ended up with two imperial burial grounds east and west of Beijing, and the reason is set out on the page for the Western Qing Tombs: an eighteenth century emperor chose not to be buried beside his father, and the dynasty then alternated between the two sites. This one is the older, the larger and the more visited of the pair.
The 1928 looting happened in a specific vacuum. The dynasty had fallen in 1912, the imperial household had been expelled from the Forbidden City in 1924, the country was divided among military commanders, and the tombs sat in open country with no effective protection. The officer responsible was never meaningfully punished. For the deposed imperial family the episode was formative, and it is cited as one of the grievances that pushed the last emperor toward accepting Japanese sponsorship a few years later.
What survives is therefore uneven in a particular way. The architecture above ground is largely intact, the two forced tombs are open and empty, and the rest are sealed. Conservation since has focused on the buildings and the stonework rather than on reopening anything, which is the correct decision and also the reason the site can feel like a set of exteriors.
Nearby
Other Stops on the Same Trip
Spot · 65 km northwest
Jinshanling Great Wall (金山岭长城)
The best-preserved stretch of Ming wall within reach of Beijing, and a natural second day in this direction.
Spot · 95 km north
Chengde Mountain Resort (承德避暑山庄)
The Qing summer capital, which is where the emperors buried here spent their summers.
Spot · 190 km southwest
Western Qing Tombs (清西陵)
The other half of the arrangement, quieter and sealed. Go there for the setting and here for the chamber.
Where to Base
Beijing (北京)
Beijing is the base and the only sensible one. This is a long day trip with a car rather than an overnight, although Zunhua has hotels if you want an early start on the spirit way.
If you are making several days of the country east and north of Beijing, this pairs well with Jinshanling and then Chengde, which turns three separate long drives into one loop and connects the Qing court’s summers to its burials.
Experiences
What You Can Actually Do Here
On site · 1 hr
The approach on foot
The archway, the great gate, the columns, the eighteen pairs of figures and the bridge, in order and at walking pace.
On site · 2 hr
Qianlong’s chamber and Cixi’s tomb
Down the ramp into the carved vault, then across to the tomb whose stonework is the finest thing here.
Guided · 3 days
The Qing outside Beijing
This district, Jinshanling and Chengde with a driver and someone who can explain the geomancy, the succession and 1928.
Take a car, leave early, and walk the approach instead of driving past it. Then go down into Qianlong’s chamber and look at the carving covering every surface of the stone. That room is open to you because somebody blew the door off it in 1928, and holding those two facts together is the most honest way to stand in it.
A Day at the Eastern Tombs
Tell us your dates and our local team will arrange the car, get you there before the coaches, walk the spirit way with you and put the 1928 story in its place.