Western Qing Tombs

The Western Qing Tombs, 75 kilometres southwest of Baoding in the hills of Yi County, contain the mausoleums of four Qing emperors: Yongzheng, Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Guangxu. The complex earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2000 as part of the Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties listing. It is quieter and more atmospheric than its eastern counterpart, partly because it receives fewer visitors and partly because the surrounding hills and the spirit ways lined with stone animals and officials have been better preserved.

The Yongzheng tomb (Tailing) is the largest and oldest. The Guangxu tomb (Chongling), the last main imperial mausoleum of the dynasty, was still being built when the empire collapsed in 1912 and was completed by the Republican government with reduced grandeur — there is a melancholy quality to it that the others lack. The spirit road, a two-kilometre processional way flanked by guardian statues, is the most photographed element of the complex and worth the walk even if you skip the individual tomb interiors.

things to do sight historic site
A story
The Yongzheng emperor chose to be buried here rather than beside his father Kangxi at the Eastern Qing Tombs, and the decision sparked a controversy that lasted for centuries. The official explanation was that the western site had better feng shui. The private explanation was that Yongzheng had come to power under suspicious circumstances — possibly by altering his father's will — and preferred not to be buried where the comparison would be immediate and unfavourable. The Qing alternated between east and west sites ever after to maintain dynastic balance.