Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

The Xiaoling is the tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang, the peasant rebel who founded the Ming dynasty in 1368, and his empress, built between 1381 and 1405 on the southern slope of Purple Mountain. It set the pattern for all later Ming and Qing imperial tombs, and UNESCO inscribed it in 2003 with them. Its sacred way is the distinctive element: rather than running straight, it curves around a hill, lined with six pairs of stone animals, elephants, camels, horses, qilin, lions and xiezhi, followed by officials, each carved from a single block. The tomb mound itself has never been excavated. Autumn colour along the sacred way in November is a Nanjing tradition.

What you actually see

• The curving sacred way - stone animals and officials along a bending avenue.
• The Ming tomb pattern - the layout copied by every later imperial tomb.
• The unexcavated mound - the burial hill behind the ceremonial buildings.
• The autumn colour - the sacred way's trees turning in November.

When to go

March to May and September to November; the November colour along the sacred way is the peak and correspondingly crowded. Nanjing summers are extremely hot. The site is large with substantial walking.

Honest expectations

The tomb itself has never been opened, so there is no underground chamber to visit. The site is part of a large scenic area with several separate tickets. Distances between the sacred way and the tomb buildings are considerable.

Nearby

Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum and Linggu Temple are on the same mountain; Nanjing's centre lies west.