Hey everyone, welcome to World Heritage Journey.
For today's video, we're at the Imperial Tombs of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties, in China.
Between them, the Ming and the Qing Dynasties ruled China for 500 years, lasting from the
late 14th century right through until 1912.
The emperors of these dynasties constructed large and elaborate tombs, and for our visit
we focused on some of the most important: the early Ming tombs to the west of Beijing.
Here you find a lush, rolling valley, home to 13 tombs of Ming emperors.
Approaching the site, you follow the Sacred Way, a long tree-lined boulevard of several
kilometres lined with statues.
Here the elephants, camels, and dragons protect and bless the sacred valley, while a series
of imperial ministers and generals stand guard for their departed masters.
Proceeding into the valley itself, we first stopped at Dingling Tomb.
Here was buried the Wanli Emperor, along with his empress after their deaths in 1620.
The complex is quite large, with a series of gradually rising pavilions, courtyards
and gatehouses.
The tomb itself is buried under a large conical mound of earth, covered in grass and trees.
Descending deep underground into the actual burial chamber, there's actually not anything
to see other than some replica coffins.
The place is entirely bare, and feels a bit like a bank vault, for reasons that I'll get
to in a moment.
Our third and final stop for this World Heritage Site was the Chang Ling Tomb, resting place
of Yongle, greatest of the Ming emperors.
We've already encountered Yongle's legacy several times on our journey through China,
and his tomb is as grand as his accomplishments.
It's a colossal series of halls, pavilions, gates, courtyards, statues, and of course
the large earthen mound containing the burial vault.
But as I mentioned, Yongle's tomb has never been opened.
In fact, of all of these tombs, Dingling is the only one that has been opened.
Despite the wonders and treasures that must lie within, Dingling serves as a cautionary tale.
The excavations were done poorly, and many items were badly damaged by the process.
But even worse, Mao's Cultural Revolution swept across China not long after the excavation,
and most of the treasures were burned, smashed, and denounced.
Only a small number of items survived, and that was because they were smuggled out of the country.
After the trauma of this destruction, authorities decided the other tombs would remain forever
unexcavated.