Western Qing tombs
| Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
 |
|
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi |
| Reference | 1004 |
| UNESCO region | Asia-Pacific |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2000 (24th Session) |
| Extensions | 2003; 2004 |
The Western Qing tombs (Chinese: 清西陵; pinyin: Qīng Xī líng) are located some 140 km (87 mi) southwest of Beijing in Yi County, Hebei Province. They constitute a necropolis that incorporates four royal mausoleums where seventy-eight royal members in all are buried. These include four emperors of the Qing dynasty and their empresses, imperial concubines, princes and princesses, as well as other royal servants.
History
Construction of the Western Qing tombs was initiated by the Yongzheng Emperor who broke with tradition and refused to be buried in the Eastern Qing tombs. Some have speculated, though not proven, that as Yongzheng had illegally usurped the throne by eliminating his brothers, his motive to relocate his tomb to the Western Qing tombs was that he did not wish to be buried alongside his father the Kangxi Emperor.[citation needed] Later on his son, the Qianlong Emperor, decided that he should be buried in the Eastern Qing tombs and dictated that thereafter burials should alternate between the eastern and western sites, although this was not followed consistently.
The first tomb, the Tai Ling, was completed in 1737, two years after the end of the Yongzheng reign. The last imperial interment was in 1913, when the Guangxu Emperor was entombed in the Chong Ling (崇陵).
Main Tombs
The four tombs in Western Qing Tombs are:
- Tailing (泰陵) for the Yongzheng Emperor (1678–1735, the 3rd emperor)
- Changling (昌陵) for the Jiaqing Emperor (1760–1820, the 5th emperor)
- Muling (慕陵) for the Daoguang Emperor (1782–1850, the 6th emperor)
- Chongling (崇陵) for the Guangxu Emperor (1871–1908, the 9th emperor)
Tourism
Although the Western Qing tombs are a popular attraction they are not as well known as the Ming Dynasty Tombs.
See also
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Western Qing Tombs. |
- Articles containing Chinese-language text
- Articles with unsourced statements from April 2014
- Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text
- Commons category link is locally defined
- Mausoleums in China
- Qing dynasty architecture
- Buildings and structures in Hebei
- Burial sites of Asian dynasties
- Burial sites of Asian royal families
- Qing dynasty
- 1730s architecture
- 1820s architecture
- 1850s architecture
- 1910s architecture
- Visitor attractions in Hebei
- World Heritage Sites in China
