【正文】 nd 23 empresses, as well as many concubines, princes, princesses and maids. The other 3 emperors, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Qiyu are buried in other locations.The founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, established his capital in present dayNanjingTowerandPreciousPalace, with the administration area in the front and living quarters in the rear. In front of the tombs are divine passes, stonefrom north to south. They are arranged in the manner of theMountainandDragonMountainHeavenlyYanjia39。 was located there, they decided against using that area. Later, they found Yanjiatai west ofMountain, Changping. However, since the surname of the emperor (Zhu) is a homophone for pig and because a village named 39。t be used as the burial ground. Next they selected the foot ofTianshouMountain. They are the burial grounds of 13 Ming Dynasty emperors. In July 2003 the site was designated a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO.Empress Xu died in the 5thCity十三陵的英文導(dǎo)游詞不是一般的費(fèi)勁THE MING TOMBSThe Ming Tombs are 40 kilometers north ofBeijingon the southern slopes ofyear of Yongle (1407). Zhu Di sentZhao Hong, secretary of the Ministry of Rites and a geomancerLiao Junqing along with many others to Beijing in search of an auspicious place for the tombs. It is said that this group of people first selected the area of Tu Jia Ying, which means slaughterhouse, and as such, it couldn39。Yangshanwolf mouth ravine39。Beijing. Again, since 39。 was the homonym of the death of the emperor, it was also deemed unsuitable. It was not until the 7th year of Yongle (1409), that they finally chose the presentLongevityas their cemetery grounds.The whole area covers 40 square kilometers. It has mountains to its east, west and north, andMountainTigerare on either side of its southern entrance. The 13 tombs goImperialarchways and steel towers. TheCityMingstand over theUndergroundwhere he was buried after his death. His tomb is called Xiaoling (Tomb of Filial Piety).The body of the second emperor of the Ming, Zhu Yunwen, is missing. Some said that he died in a fire, while others said that he went to a temple and became a monk. There is no final conclusion yet.The seventh Ming Emperor Zhu Qiyu, was buried as a prince by his elder brother Zhu Qizhen at Jinshankou, a western suburb ofand proclaimed his reenthronementthe Seizing Gate Upheaval.The Memorial Arch was built in the 19thyear of Xuande (1435), and stands about 10 meters high with two tiers of eaves. A huge tablet stands in the middle of the Tablet House. The front side bears an inscription by Emperor Renzong for Chengzu. The reverse side is a poem by Qing Emperor Qianlong recording in detail the conditions of the broken Changling, Yongling, Dingling and Xiling. On the east side is the record of expenditures for repairing the Ming Tombs by the Qing government. On the west side is an epitaph by Qing Emperor Jiaqing. It was written in the 9thall). Behind the house, there are two stone pillars. Beyond the pillars are stone animals and other statues. Lions, Xie Zhi, camels, elephants, and Qi Lin horses .All of the animals are in two pairs. Two stand, while the other two kneel. It is followed by the statues of military officers, civil officials and officials of merit, four in each group. These stone animals and statues were made in the 10th year of Xuande (1435). They reflect the imperial power when he was alive and the imperial dignity after he was deceased.The animals and statues were created using whole blocks of stone weighing a couple of tons and each was delicately and masterfully carved.Here standsor the Tomb path. We passed the Memorial Arch, the Big Palace Gate, the Tablet House,Ling Xing Gate. This sevenkilometer long sacred pathway leads