The Ming Tombs, including the Yongling and Siling, are open to the public for the first time by appointment. According to Changping District, starting from yesterday, tourists can make an appointment to visit the park through the official channels of "Ming Tombs Scenic Area" and "Changping Cultural Tourism Group" for guided tours. Currently, some dates in December this year can be reserved. So far, six tombs including Changling, Dingling, Zhaoling, Kangling, Yongling, and Siling have been opened to the public.

The scale of Yongling is second only to Changling among the thirteen Ming Tombs.

Yongling is grand in scale, second only to Changling

The Ming Yongling, which is open this time, covers an area of 250,000 square meters. It is the joint tomb of the 11th emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houzhao, and his two empresses, Chen and Fang, and his queen, Du. Zhu Houzhao, also known as Emperor Jiajing, had a long reign of 45 years. The construction of Yongling took 7 years and cost more than 8 million taels of silver. Among the thirteen Ming Tombs, its scale is second only to Changling, the tomb of Emperor Yongle, and its biggest feature is "grandeur", which was built by Zhu Houzhao during his lifetime.

Walking into Yongling, the huge terrace in front is the foundation of the Ling'en Gate. The scale of this terrace exceeds the height of the Ling'en Hall terrace in several previous tombs. The stone carvings on the central imperial road feature a dragon and phoenix playing with a pearl pattern. According to historical records, the original architectural form of the Ling'en Hall in Yongling adopted the highest level of roof system, the double-eaved hip roof with a width of seven bays, and the materials used were all precious nanmu wood. Due to the good quality of the project, Yongling was well preserved until the mid-Qing Dynasty.

During the major renovation of the thirteen Ming Tombs in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, due to the lack of ready-made wood, Emperor Qianlong ordered the dismantling of the nanmu wood hall in Yongling and rebuilt a small new Ling'en Hall on the original site. The traces of the Qing Dynasty's renovation can still be clearly seen on the Ling'en Hall terrace: a huge Ming Dynasty terrace is stacked on top of a Qing Dynasty renovated Ling'en Hall terrace, telling the story of the vicissitudes of Yongling.

Due to the damage of the outer buildings, the Ming Tower can be seen shortly after entering the Yongling. This Ming Tower is made entirely of brick and stone, from the brackets to the rafters, and even the plaque with the words "Yongling" is made of stone. As an ancient relic of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Tower has endured more than 400 years of wind and rain and still does not require major repairs, indicating its strength. The battlements on the walls of the treasure city at Yongling are all made of precious spotted stones. Despite the wind and rain, these stones still feel very smooth to the touch. This material and construction method are unique to Yongling, indicating the importance that Zhu Houzhao placed on his own tomb.

The Siling has its own unique features

The Ming Siling is located in the southwest corner of the Tianshou Mountain Tomb area, covering an area of 6,500 square meters, about one two-hundredth the size of the Changling. It is the joint tomb of the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian, his filial and loyal empress Zhou, and his noble concubine Tian. It is the smallest imperial tomb among the Ming Tombs, and the stone offering vessels inside the imperial tomb are unique relics.

Zhu Youjian was busy with political affairs during his 17-year reign and did not build a tomb for himself. In January 1644, Tian, the concubine who was beloved by the emperor during his lifetime, was buried in the Tianshou Mountain Tomb area. Later, the situation in Beijing changed suddenly, and Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian was forced to commit suicide by hanging himself on Wansui Mountain (now Jing Shan) by the uprising army of Li Zicheng. Because Emperor Chongzhen did not build a Shou Palace before his death and Tian was newly buried, the tomb of Tian in the southwest corner of Tianshou Mountain became the first choice for Emperor Chongzhen's burial. The empress Zhou, who hanged herself, was also buried with him in the concubine's tomb, making this cemetery quite desolate.

At that time, there was no money in the Changping State Treasury, so officials and civilians jointly donated money to hold a funeral for the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty. After the Qing Dynasty took over Beijing, this tomb was named "Siling" and above-ground garden buildings were constructed. Currently, all the main buildings of the Siling are gone, and the most prominent architectural relics are the stone offering vessels. Compared with the stone offering vessels in the other twelve imperial tombs of the Ming Dynasty, there are two sets of stone offering vessels in the Siling. The front set of offering vessels consists of five pieces, with an incense burner in the center, candlesticks on the left and right, and vases on both sides. The stone vessels are covered with exquisite patterns, and there are stone-carved pedestals under the offering vessels, surrounded by cloud and dragon decorations. The back set of offering vessels consists of five pieces and a pedestal, representing five kinds of fruits: pomegranate, Buddha's hand, orange, persimmon, and peach.

These somewhat "unconventional" existences are precisely a unique landscape in the Ming Tombs. Compared with the Ming Yongling, the Ming Siling, which was also opened to the public at the same time, is far inferior in scale to the Yongling. However, because of the stubborn last emperor and the history that makes later generations infinitely sentimental, this tomb has its own unique features.

■ Service Information

Gradually realizing normalized reception

Currently, the Ming Yongling and Ming Siling only open online reservation channels. Considering the reception capacity of the tombs and the protection of cultural relics, the two tombs will make corresponding restrictions on the number of reservations received, with a maximum of 10 people per tomb per time period each day.

The reservation and explanation fees for the Ming Yongling and Ming Siling on the official Douyin account of the "Ming Tombs Scenic Area" and the official WeChat mini program of "Changping Culture and Tourism Group" are 299 RMB and 199 RMB per person, respectively. Currently, visitors can only enter these two imperial tombs through explanation services. In the future, normalized reception will be gradually realized based on the number of reservations and the repair of the tombs, and service upgrades will be made according to feedback, making it more humane and customized.

■ Opening Plan

All imperial tombs of the Ming Tombs will be opened in 2030

In July of this year, the 2024 Ming Culture Forum announced that the "Ming Tombs Scenic Area will gradually expand the scope of cultural heritage opening and achieve the full opening of all imperial tombs of the Ming Tombs by 2030." The opening plan is divided into three phases, the first phase is from 2024 to 2025, opening the Siling and Yongling; the second phase is from 2026 to 2028, opening the Maoling, Tailing, Deling and the site of the new palace; the third phase is from 2029 to 2030, opening the Xianling, Yuling, and Qingling.

After the full opening of the Ming Tombs, the physical cultural relics such as ancient buildings, tombs, and spirit paths, as well as cultural heritage elements such as architectural sites and spirit paths, will be displayed, fully presenting the complete construction process of the thirteen tombs, the architectural features of the Ming imperial tombs, and the construction techniques of the Ming imperial tombs.