Departs and Operates

 

·Tour Type: Exclusive Private Tour
·Vehicle: Car or Van
·Operates: Daily
·Departs: 8:00am or 1:30pm
·Returns: 12:00am/5:30pm
·Duration: Approx. 4 hours
·Pick-up: Your midtown Hotel

 

Highlights:

 

• The Ming Tombs, located at about 50km/31 miles outside the city, are where 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty are buried. Construction of the tombs began over 500 years ago by Changling, the second Ming Dynasty Emperor. The tomb you will visit, Dingling, is the only tomb on-site to be excavated. After our visit to the tomb we will stroll through the Ming Tombs entrance of the Sacred Way.
• You will be accompanied on your tour by a professional English-speaking guide, which will make your tour informative, fun, and worry-free.

 

Detailed itinerary:

 

1. You will be picked up from your hotel, and by private van we will set out for the Ming Tombs, which is about 50km/ 31 miles from the city center. The drive should take about 1.5 hours. The tomb we will be visiting today, Dingling, is the only excavated tomb at the Ming Tombs, so it will give you the greatest insight into the Emperor’s burial practices.

 

2. The Ming Tombs, about 50 km/31 miles from Beijing, are where 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) are buried. This site was carefully chosen for its feng shui principles by the third Ming emperor Yongle (who also moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing and began construction on the Forbidden City). The tomb we will visit, Dingling, is the tomb of the Wanli Emperor. It is the only one of the Ming Dynasty Tombs to have been excavated. It also remains the only imperial tomb to have been excavated since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

 

3. After viewing the tombs, we will head to the “Shenlu”, or the Spirit Way/Sacred Way. The Spirit Way leads into the complex, lined with statues of guardian animals and officials, with a front gate consisting of a three-arches, painted red, and called the "Great Red Gate". The Sacred Way, starts with a huge stone memorial archway lying at the front of the area. Constructed in 1540, during the Ming Dynasty, this archway is one of the biggest stone archways in China today.

 

4. After our stroll through the Sacred Way we will drive directly back to your hotel, and you will be dropped off.