The Ming Xiaoling Tombs are the burial complex of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, who died in 1398. Spread across the lower slopes of Purple Mountain, the complex is approached via the Sacred Way (神道), a kilometre-long processional path lined with large stone animals and officials. The animals — lions, camels, elephants, horses, xiezhi — are carved with considerable naturalism and stand in pairs, alternately kneeling and upright.
The burial mound itself is a large earthen tumulus that has never been excavated. UNESCO added the Ming Xiaoling Tombs to its World Heritage List in 2003 as part of a group of Ming imperial tombs across China. The forested setting, the red autumn leaves in October, and the scale of the stone figures make this one of Nanjing's most memorable visits.