The Mongolian rulers of China saw a strange and unforeseen end.
A glut of natural disasters gave rise to rebels among the farmers, and the revolts that followed became too uncontrollable for the foreign rulers.
Quite naturally, the leadership baton was passed on to Zhu Yuanzhang, a leader among the farmers. He was not a man of great education, but he was born leader and this quality helped him to establish the glorious Ming dynasty in 1368.
The Ming period brought immense prosperity to china when science, the arts, cultivation of new crops, and the production of textiles flourished. Their final accomplishment was the completion of the construction of the Great Wall.
The Ming Dynasty capital was established in Nanjing, but was later moved to Beijing; with a massive reconstruction project under the rule of Emperor Yongle£¨1403-1424£© who also established the Forbidden City, as we see it today.
Thirteen of the great rulers of this dynasty, 23 empresses, 1 highest-ranking concubine and a dozen imperial concubines were being put to rest at he Ming tombs, built in a broad valley to the south of Tianshou mountain in Changping district, about 50 kilometers northwest of Beijing; a sober and serene place with a wealth of history about China glorious past.
Declared as a world heritage site by the UNESCO, we set out on our journey to learn about he royals and reached the road that leads up to the tombs. Named as the spirit way or the sacred way, this road commences with a triumphal arch called the dragon-headed turtle tablet pavilion.
Inside is a large stone carving of a mythical animal named bixi which was a turtle with a dragon head and a Chinese tablet containing more than 1000 Chinese characters. Out of the pavilion, the entire road was beautifully flanked by gorgeous granite statues of animals and officers, all intricately carved.
Reaching the premises we went towards the map of the tomb to understand the layout of the place .like all imperial tombs the Ming tombs also followed a very standard layer's main gate leading to a courtyard, followed by the main hall. Beyond the halls were the other gates that led to the soul tower and finally were the burial mounds. Under the guidance of traditional Chinese fengshui, the entire process starting from site selection to designing of the tombs, gave importance to the harmony between tomb architecture and the surrounding ambience.
Out of the 13 emperors who have been buried here, tombs of only two emperors are open to the public; Chang Ling, the tomb of Emperor Yongle and Ding Ling, the tomb of emperor wanly. We got the opportunity to experience the Chang ling only which happened to be the most beautiful on the entire premises.
We entered through the main gate which our guide described to be built in Confucian colors, that is, colors which are of a typical red tinge and not as bright as the Buddhist layouts. The beautiful flower beds adorning the entrance gate was of course very vibrant.
Waling past the courtyard to reach the Chang ling premises, we came across the most impressive area with a series of beautiful halls lying beyond the main gate. The hall of eminent favors happens to be the most beautiful here.
Set up on a three tiered marble terrace, the hall had very interesting things on display. The main statue here was a gigantic one of emperor Yongle and surrounding him was a very interesting display of all the royal artifacts that included coins, jewelries used by the royals, crowns, dresses and even variety of swords and other arms.
Walking past the displays we left the hall through a narrow corridor to the courtyard. The courtyard had an archway; our guide told us not to pass through it because it was supposed to be entered only by the dead who would go to the heaven. The courtyard finally led to the soul tower for which we had to climb up a steep walkway and reach the burial mound. A small iron gate on the ground marked the entrance to the vaults which till now had not been excavated and so was not open to the public.
The burial mound otherwise remained covered with trees. On your way back your guide would suggest you return through the same gate which is supposedly for the dead, because if you return through that gate you would be granted a re-birth.
Usually you will reach the tombs in the afternoon and when you realize the time it is quite late and you have to hurry back to downtown hotel and enjoy a nice dinner.
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