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The best approach to the Changling, the mausoleum of Emperor Yongle, is along the Sacred Way, a seven-kilometre-long colonnade. This divine pathway is lined with willow trees, and as you make your way along the colonnade you stroll past life-size statues of camels, lions and elephants. You will also view statues of Chinese mythological beasts. And, as you reach the end of the Sacred Way you come across the statues of generals and other dignitaries.
The tombs are quite spread apart so you will definitely need transport. Certainly, if you have your own transport, you can easily cover all three tombs in a day, but those relying on public transport would be wise to take in just two of the tomb sites so that they can enjoy these at a leisurely pace. Another option is to take one of the unofficial taxi drivers who will more than likely approach you.
The Sacred Way symbolizes the road leading to heaven. It was believed that the Emperor, who was known as the Son of the Heaven, came from Heaven to his country via the Sacred Way, and so it was thought that the emperor deserved to return to Heaven the same way.
Once you've walked the whole of the Sacred Way it is then easy to hop on a bus and take the 10-minute ride out to the Changling mausoleum. Of course, you may opt to head off to the Dingling Tombs or Zhaoling Tombs first, but do remember that Changling is said to be the best of the three sites.
On a recent daytrip out to the Ming Tombs I decided to visit just Dingling and Changling, and save a visit to Zhaoling for another day.
Dingling was the first tomb I visited. It is located at the eastern foot of the Dayu Mountains. Construction of this tomb started in 1584 and took six years to complete. It was constructed as the mausoleum for Emperor Zhu Xiejun, who was popularly known as Emperor Wanli, as well as for his two empresses. Emperor Wanli was the 13th emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He was born in 1563 and was enthroned at the age of 10. Emperor Wanli reigned for 48 years, until he passed away at age 58.
Meanwhile, at Changling once entering through the Gate of Eminent Favour, you pass the stele pavillion, and two sacred silk burners in a huge courtyard before coming to the Hall of Eminent Favour. Here, you come face-to-face with a huge bronze statue of Emperor Yongle. A display in both Chinese and English explains the achievements of his reign. You can view his crowns, as well as jade jewellery, porcelain, and even gold chopsticks and spoons that were used by one of the greatest of the Ming Emperors and the man who envisaged his name and memory living on for many centuries after his death.
The Underground Palace of Dingling is the only one of the Ming Tombs excavated so far. Inside there are five stone chambers, and more than 3,000 cultural relics have been unearthed here. You can walk around the chambers and see the coffin bed where replicas of the huge red coffins and cases are on display. Unfortunately, when the archeologists initially opened the Underground Palace the coffin of Empress Xiaojing, as well as most of the funerary objects, had decayed. However, there is a museum on site where you can view crowns, treasures, silks and robes that have been unearthed at Dingling.
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