Brief information on Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum  

Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, the biggest imperial mausoleum in China, was built as the tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty and his wife, and has a history of some 600 years. It is located at the southern foot of Purple Mountain. The construction of this mausoleum took 17 years.

Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum consists of two parts: scared way and the main body of the mausoleum. Scared way started from Sifangcheng, a stele pavilion, in which a stele with a 2746-character inscription written by Zhu Di. Zhu Di was the son of Zhu Yuanzhang, and he was the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He designed the inscription in order to praise the Ming Dynasties first emperor.  Along the 800-meter-long scared way, there were 6 kinds and 12 pairs of stone animals, 1 pair of ornamental pillars and 4 pairs of stone statues depicting officials and generals crouching or standing on both sides of the throughway. The main body of Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum is the site of Zhu Yuanzhang burial, and starts from the front entrance to Chongqiu, including the front entrance, Xiang Palace, Fang City, Ming Building, and Baoding.

In 2003, Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, together with the Ming Tombs in Beijing, was listed as a site of World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.

*You can download the bilingual note to show it to a taxi driver or someone else to find your way to Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum if you plan to visit Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum and have language problems.

   

Hours: 8:00-18:00
Address: southern foot of Purple Mountain, Nanjing
Transportation: take Bus 20 or Tour Bus 2 and 3.
Admission: CNY 70