The Yuling mausoleum of the Qianlong Emperor is the most architecturally extraordinary burial at the Eastern Qing Tombs. Above ground, the processional sequence follows the standard imperial template: a spirit way lined with stone animals and officials, ceremonial gates, and offering halls. It is impressive but familiar. The revelation comes when you descend 54 metres underground through a series of marble vaulted chambers.
Four sets of massive marble doors, each carved with standing Bodhisattvas in high relief, mark the transitions between chambers. The walls and ceiling of the innermost rooms are covered from floor to vault with Buddhist imagery — Sanskrit and Tibetan text, lotus patterns, and more than 30,000 characters of scripture. The total effect is overwhelming: a space that was meant to be sealed for eternity, carved as if the carvers knew they would never be thanked.
The Qianlong Emperor selected this site himself in 1742 and oversaw the construction closely. He is buried here with two empresses and three imperial consorts.