Brief information on Zhaoling Mausoleum  

Zhaoling Mausoleum, situated 70 kilometers from Xi’an on Mt. Jiuzong in Shaanxi Province, ,is the mausoleum of Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin). The largest royal mausoleum of the Tang Dynasty, and indeed the largest in the world, it covers an area of 200 square kilometers and contains over 180 accompanying tombs. Construction began in 636 A.D. with the death and burial of Empress Zhangsun and continued for 13 years until the death of Li Shimin in 649 A.D. Underground, many cultural relics survive and bear witness to the prosperity of Tang Dynasty. These relics enable research into the politics, economy and culture of the Tang Dynasty and Chinese feudal society.

Zhaoling Mausoleum was designed to imitate the layout of the imperial capital Chang’an City. It was also the first tomb situated on a mountain in the Tang dynasty and emperors after Li Shimin followed suit.

In addition, the famous Six Steeds of Zhaoling Mausoleum deserve to be mentioned. The name ‘Six Steeds’ refers to the six war horses of Emperor Taizong, which symbolize the six big wars he experienced as well as his brilliant military exploits in those wars. The six stone steeds are carved in relief and the simple lines vividly display the brawny bodies of the horses, galloping across the battlefield under fire from bow and arrow.

In front of the tomb of Li Ji (Xu Maogong) is Zhaoling Mausoleum Museum where around 8,000 cultural relics are collected in four exhibition rooms. The rare collections include proclamations, red pottery, painted glazed pottery, Tang tri-color pottery (Tang Sancai), gildied and colored drawings, murals, etc. In the Zhaoling Forest of Steles, over 60 steles and 40 epitaphs are collected and many of them are even recognized as first class national cultural relics.

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

   

Chinese Pinyin: Zhao Ling
Opening Times: 8:00-18:00
Ticket Price: CNY 20
Address: 20 kilometers northwest of Liquan County, Shaanxi Province
How to Get to: Take a bus to Liquan and Qianxian Counties from Xi’an West Passenger Station and get off at Liquan County. Then transfer to a bus to Beitun Town.