The Eastern Qing Tombs

Located 125 km east of Beijing in Zunhua County, the Eastern Qing Tombs was the grandest and most intact imperial graveyard of its kind in China. The Eastern Qing Tombs was built alongside Changrui Mountain after long-term inspections and studies. Archaeologists said this group of graves was an integration of imperial tombs, palaces and gardens, combining natural beauty with human elegance, which was a good example of architecture and aesthetics.

Covering 2,500 square kilometers, the grave group began in 1661 and was finished in 1908. Five emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) together with 15 empresses were buried here, among whom the most well-known ones are emperors Kangxi and Qianlong, who pushed forward the economy of Qing Dynasty to its peak.

The tomb area consists of two sections: the Houlong and the Qianquan. The Houlong, the source of an auspicious tomb site according to geomancy, starts from the Great Wall, extends along Mt. Shaozu and Mt. Wuling near Chengde, and borders Zunhua on the east and Miyun on the west. The area is characterized by ranges of mountains and a beautiful landscape. The Qianquan is where the tombs are located, which occupies 48 square km, and is enclosed in geomantic walls of some 20 km both on the east and on the west, with a red gate that was erected to the south of the location.

The Eastern Qing Tombs, together with the Western Qing Tombs were listed for state-level preservation in 1961 and the World Culture Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.