He Biggest Imperial Tomb

The thirteen imperial mausoleums ( Ming Tombs) are located at the foot of Mountain of Heavenly Longevity ( Tianshou Mountain), 10 km north of Changping District of Beijing, covering an area of about 40 km2. It ia an ideal graveyard in Chinese tradition, flanked by a cluster of hills of the ancient Yanshan mountains extending from the northwest encircling the mausoleum area in the west, north, and east, whereas its south is guarded by Snake Hill and Tiger Hill on the left and right. In its spacious central plain are watercourses and lakes such as Wnyu River to add to its fertility and scenery.
After the Ming empire resettled its capital in Beijing, its emperors began construction of their tombs in this place, from Chang Mausoleum for Emperor Zhudi in 1409, the very first one, to the last Si Mausoleum for Emperor Zhu Youjian, lasting as long as over 200 years. Altogether 13 emperors of Ming Dynasty were buried here with their empresses and immolation concubines, in their own mausolems scattered along the west, north, and east foot of the mountain, shaded in green woods with mausoleum buildings of red walls and yellow tiles to form a wonderful scenery like a landscape painting.
The Thirteen Mausoleums as a whole is masterpiece of architecture of ancient China, planned and designed in harmony with the mountains, rivers, and landform. It combines ingeniously the Chinese traditions, natural scenery, and architectural art, thus fully displaying the advance of architecture in Ming Dynasty.
In June of 2003 it was included in World Heritage List by UNESCO.