In 2000, The Xianling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty, Western Qing Tombs and Eastern Qing Tombs were listed on the World Heritage List; in 2003, the Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty and the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming dynasty were listed on the World Heritage List; in 2004, the Three Imperial Tombs of the Qing Dynasty in Liaoning Province - the Fuling Tomb, the Zhaoling Tomb and the Yongling Tomb - were listed on the World Heritage List as an extension of the Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty are located at the foot of Tianshou Mountain, about fifty kilometers from Beijing. The mausoleum is surrounded by mountains, with a plain in the middle and a small river winding along. The thirteen imperial tombs were built on the hills, respectively on the foothills of the east, west and north, forming a group of complete, grand and majestic mausoleum constructions. According to Feng Shui Masters of Ming Dynasty, this tomb area was an auspicious Feng Shui site, thus it was chosen by Ming Dynasty as the "Eternal Resting Place" for the imperial tombs.

The mausoleum was built in 1409, more than 300 to 600 years ago. Covering an area of 40 square kilometers, it is the largest existing imperial mausoleum complex in China and the world, with the largest number of emperors' and empresses' tombs. From the construction of the Changling Tomb in in the seventh year of Yongle in Ming Dynasty (1409 AD) to the Siling Tomb in the early years of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty, there were thirteen imperial tombs built successively during more than 200 years, with 13 emperors, 23 empresses and 10 concubines buried.