How to Visit Ming Tombs in Beijing Ming Tombs Tourist Map from www.maps-of-china.net Before we talk about how to visit Ming Tombs, people are more interested in knowing whether Ming Tombs are worth visiting. Well, as far as I know, people are quite divided on this. Some dislike; some feel they are ok and others say they are a must see. So different people with different cultural and social backgrounds have their own different opinions on the question. For many visitors, the visiting of Ming Tombs is not as important as that of Forbidden City, Summer Palace and Great Wall of China. It is not worth a separate trip. But in my opinion, generally it is quite worth having a glimpse on a combined journey to or back from Great Wall since the location of Ming Tombs is quite accessible on the way to the bits of the Great Wall of China – Juyongguan, Badaling and Mutianyu. Of course, their accessibility is not the only reason for being worth visiting. Listed as world cultural heritage, Ming Tombs provide people a kind of real experience. That tells why this place is a popular place for native Chinese, especially those who are attracted by history. If you are going to visit the Tombs, then how to visit them? What homework you should do before you come close to them? Maybe the following Ming Tombs travel tips will be useful for you: Tip # 01: Grab some basic knowledge of the 13 Tombs in Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) Ming Tombs are about 13 tombs in Ming Dynasty where 13 out of 16 emperors in Ming Dynasty were buried successively there. There were totally 16 emperors in Ming Dynasty. Why 13 emperors were buried there? Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty was buried in the Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing; Zhu Yunwen, the Emperor Jianwen disappeared and Zhu Qiyu, the Emperor Jingtai was buried at Jinshan Hill in the western suburbs of Beijing. All other 13 Ming Emperors were buried in this tomb area, hence the area being called the 13 Ming Tombs. Of all the 13 Ming Tombs, at present only 3 Ming Tombs are open to the public, namely Dingling, Changling and Zhaoling ( “ling” literally means “Tomb” in Chinese). So before you are going to visit Ming Tombs, you’d better know which of the 3 tombs you should visit, which are located separately quite a disance. The three tombs are also a little different in terms of ticket prices and value. Of the 3 Ming Tombs opend to the public, only Dingling ( often called Undeground Palace) has been excavated. There is down a long staircase into a chamber with some stone thrones and a few large plain red boxes which are the burial caskets in the so called underground palace. Tip # 02: Of the 3 tombs, which one you should visit? Because all the 3 tombs are located separately quite a distance, usually you only have time to visit one of the three tombs. So which one? If you have no problem with your knees and feet, and are fairely good at walking, you are advised to visit Dingling – the underground palace. You have a long walk from the Dingling Entrance before you get to the Tomb itself, where you walk 8 flights of stairs down. The walk to the tomb can be hard and long during high season, but normally takes about 15 minutes. If you are wheelchair users or have some diffculty in walking, just forget Dingling, and choose Changling instead. Changling is the largest tomb of all the 13 Ming Tombs. Changling is the tomb where buried the Third Emperor Zhu Di with his queen Nee Xu. Changling is not excavated. But its grand hall on the ground is worth visiting. The construction of the hall started in 1409 and finished in 1427. As for Zhaoling, you can simply skip it since it is almost recently rebuilt or renovated. Tip # 03: Sacred Way is highly recommended For me, the best part of Ming Tombs tour is the walk down Sacred Way which is lined with large statues that are several hundred years old. These are huge statues of lions, camels, elephants, etc, and they are located on both sides of the walkway. The Sacred Way is part of the Ming Tombs complex. Sacred Way means the road leading to heaven. The Emperor, known as the Son of the Heaven, who desended from Heaven to his country through the Sacred Road, also would return to Heaven through this way. Tip # 04: How to get there and admission fees Sacred and Ming Tombs are located in Changping District, about 50km north of Beijing. Entrance Fees: Changling Tomb: RMB 30 (November.01 - March. 31); RMB 45 (April. 01 - October. 31) Dingling Tomb: RMB 40 (November.01 - March. 31); RMB 60 (April. 01 - October. 31) Zhaoling Tombe: RMB 20 (November.01 - Machr. 31); RMB 30 (April. 01 - Oct. 31) Sacred Way: RMB 20/30) Opening Hours: Changling Tomb: 08:30 - 17:30 Dingling Tomb: 08:30 – 18:00 Zhaoling Tomb 8:30 – 17:30 Sacred Way: 8:30 – 18:00 Tickets stop selling about half a hours before the tombs are closed. Beijing Public Bus: 1. Take bus 345 Fest), 919 (Branch) 1 at Deshengmen Xi Station and get off at Changping Dong Guan Station, and take bus 314, Changping 23 to Dingling Tomb Station or Changling Tomb Station. 2. Take Subway 5 to Tiantongyuan Bei Station, get off the subway station and change to bus Changping 23 to Zhaoling Tomb. Tip # 05 How to plan your Ming Tombs Tour? It is better to incorporate your Ming Tombs into a journey covering other tourist attractions also. How to incorporate? Usually Summer Palace can be combined with Ming Tombs trip on a one day tour in Beijing. The most common is blended with the trip to one of the sections of Great Wall of China – Juyongguan Great Wall, Badaling Great Wall or Mutuanyu Great Wall on an a day trip in Beijiong. Tip # 06: Avoid Public Holiday and Weekend For local Chinese, Ming Tombs are just as important as Forbidden City and Summer Palace, never missed on their trip to Beijing. On weekend, especially during the public holidays, Ming Tombs can be very crowded! Take greater precaution when you go down the 8 staircases to the underground palace at Dingling Tomb.