Qianling Introduction Video

Qianling Mausoleum was a royal cemetery located on Liangshan Mountain in the north of Qian County, Shaanxi Province. It was the tomb of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, Li Zhi, and Empress Wu Zetian. Qianling was about 80 kilometers away from Xi'an and was one of the first batch of key cultural relics under national protection. There were four gates in Qianling Mausoleum. They were the Eastern Azure Dragon, the Western White Tiger, the Southern Vermilion Bird, and the Northern Black Tortoise. They symbolized the Four Divine Beasts and guarded the four gates of Qianling Mausoleum. The main peak of Qianling Mausoleum was 1047.9 meters above sea level. Looking from afar, the two peaks of the eastern mountain corresponded to each other. They were round and beautiful. They were called "Milk Peak Mountain", which symbolized Sleeping Beauty and Empress Wu Zetian lying on the ground. The mausoleum of Qianling Mausoleum was huge and majestic. It was composed of two walls, one inside and one outside. The ruins of the inner city were still complete, covering an area of 2.4 square kilometers. The main cultural relics on the ground of Qianling Mausoleum were stone carvings. There were 114 pieces in total, and most of the stone carvings were carved out of a whole boulder. There were 526 steps and 18 platforms in front of the mausoleum. There were 17 burial tombs in Qianling Mausoleum, among which the tombs of Princess Yongtai, Prince Zhanghuai and Prince Yide had been excavated and restored. Qianling Mausoleum was the most well-preserved mausoleum among the eighteen mausoleums of the Tang Dynasty. It was also the only mausoleum that had not been stolen. In 1961, Qianling Tomb was announced by the State Council as one of the first batch of key cultural relics under national protection.

Qianling Tomb was located on Liangshan Mountain, 6 kilometers north of Qian County County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. It was the joint tomb of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, Li Zhi, and Wu Zetian. Qianling Mausoleum was built in the first year of Tang Guangzhai (684). It was the best preserved mausoleum of the Tang Dynasty and the only one that had not been stolen. Qianling Mausoleum was a grand place, covering an area of nearly 2.4 million square meters. It had two walls, one inside and one outside. The north and south walls of the inner city were 1450 meters long, the east wall was 1583 meters long, and the west wall was 1438 meters long. The construction method of Qianling Mausoleum was to use the mountain as the tomb. Liangshan was chosen as the location of the tomb to ensure the safety of the cemetery. Qianling was announced by the State Council as one of the first batch of key cultural relics under national protection. The Qianling Museum was located next to the tomb of Princess Yongtai of Tang Dynasty in Qian County. It was a museum of the ruins of the tombs of the emperors of Tang Dynasty, which mainly focused on collecting, protecting, researching and displaying the cultural relics unearthed from the Qianling Cemetery and its accompanying tombs.

Qianling Tomb was located in the north of Qian County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, 6,000 meters away from the county seat. It was the joint tomb of the Tang Dynasty emperors Li Zhi and Wu Zetian. It was known as one of the best-preserved tombs in the Tang Dynasty. Qianling Mausoleum was very large, covering an area of nearly 2.4 million square meters. There were two walls inside and outside. The north and south walls of the inner city were 1450 meters long, the east wall was 1583 meters long, and the west wall was 1438 meters long. Qianling Mausoleum was built in the first year of Guangzhai of Tang Dynasty (684). It adopted the construction method of "taking the mountain as the mausoleum" and imitated the architectural style of Chang 'an City. In addition to the main tomb, there were 17 smaller burial tombs in Qianling Mausoleum, where other members of the royal family and meritorious officials were buried. Qianling Mausoleum was the most well-preserved of the eighteen Tang mausoleums, and it was also the only mausoleum that had not been robbed. Qianling was listed as one of the first batch of key cultural relics under national protection.

Qianling Mausoleum was located on Liangshan Mountain in the north of Qian County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. It was the joint tomb of Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty. Qianling Mausoleum was built in the first year of Guangzhai of Tang Dynasty (684), covering a total area of about 2.3 million square meters. It was one of the eighteen mausoleums of Tang Dynasty and the best preserved one. Qianling Mausoleum was built in the style of "taking the mountain as a mausoleum", imitating the layout of Chang 'an City in the capital. There were two walls inside and outside, and there were magnificent buildings such as the Hall of Sacrifice, side rooms, corridors, and watchtowers. There were also 17 small funerary tombs in Qianling Tomb, where other members of the royal family and meritorious officials were buried. Qianling Mausoleum was the only mausoleum in the Tang Dynasty that had not been robbed. It was known as the "Crown of Imperial Mausoleums" and "the open-air exhibition hall of the stone carving art of the Tang Dynasty". In 1961, Qianling Tomb was announced by the State Council as one of the first batch of key cultural relics under national protection.

There is a dispute about whether Qianling Tomb was stolen. Some experts believed that Qianling Tomb was the only one among the eighteen tombs in Guanzhong of the Tang Dynasty that had not been stolen. They pointed out that the anti-theft facilities of Qianling Tomb were so strong that thieves could not open it in a short time. The tombs of Qianling Mausoleum were all sealed with stone strips, pulled with iron bolts or iron rods, and then cast with white iron to connect the stone strips into one. In addition, the Qianling Underground Palace was chiseled in the middle of the stone mountain. It was very difficult to dig a new hole into the underground palace instead of the tomb path. Other scholars believed that Qianling might have been robbed. An engineer involved in the exploration of Qianling believed that Qianling might have been robbed, but he did not provide conclusive evidence. At present, there was still no clear conclusion as to whether Qianling Tomb had been robbed or not. The advancement of science and technology may provide more possibilities to solve the mystery of Qianling Mausoleum, but it is currently impossible to determine whether Qianling Mausoleum has been stolen.

Xuankong Temple was a temple located on the cliff of Cuiping Peak on the west side of Golden Dragon Gorge in Hengshan, Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province. It was built in 491 AD and was a unique temple that combined Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Xuan Kong Temple was famous for its unique architecture and its abyss-like precipitousness. The temple was about 50 meters above the ground and consisted of 40 houses. All of them were supported by a wooden frame structure and were fixed by 27 wooden beams inserted into the rock wall. Inside the temple were statues of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. It was a rare temple in China that combined the three religions. Xuankong Temple was a key cultural relic protection unit in China, and it was also one of the earliest existing wooden structures built on cliffs in the world. In 2010, it was selected as one of the top ten most endangered buildings in the world by Time Magazine.

Qianling Mausoleum was located on Liangshan Mountain in the north of Qian County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province.

Qianling Mausoleum was located on Liangshan Mountain in the north of Qian County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province.

Qianling Tomb is located in Qian County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province.

Qianling Mausoleum was the only one among the eighteen mausoleums in Guanzhong during the Tang Dynasty that had not been robbed. According to historical records and field archaeological investigations, the structure of the tomb and underground palace of Qianling Mausoleum was intact, and no new holes were found. Although there had been many incidents of tomb theft in Qianling Mausoleum, due to its construction method and tight closed structure, grave robbers were unable to dig into the tomb, making it extremely difficult to dig. Therefore, Qianling Mausoleum had not been successfully looted so far.