The Qianling Mausoleum, in Qian County about sixty kilometres northwest of Weinan city, is the joint burial place of the Tang Emperor Gaozong (r. 649–683) and his wife Wu Zetian — the only woman in Chinese history to rule as emperor in her own name. The tomb is built into a natural hill, Liangshan, whose twin peaks form the silhouette visible for miles across the plain. Neither the main tomb nor Wu Zetian's adjacent burial has ever been excavated; what you see is the landscape and the approach.
The Sacred Way, a kilometre-long processional avenue leading to the mound, is lined with a sequence of stone sculptures: a pair of stone stelae, then ostriches, then war horses attended by grooms, then a double row of stone officials. The ostriches are an unusual detail — they appear to have been tribute gifts brought from Central Asia during the Tang dynasty's period of international influence. The 61 headless officials, each originally representing a foreign dignitary who attended the funeral, are the mausoleum's most atmospheric feature.
Around the base of the main mound, seventeen subsidiary tombs of princes, princesses, and high officials have been excavated. The most rewarding to visit are the tombs of Prince Zhanghuai and Princess Yongtai, which contain Tang wall paintings — court scenes, polo games, palace ladies — of exceptional quality. The adjacent Qianling Museum houses objects recovered from the subsidiary tombs, including silver vessels, silk fragments, and the epitaph tablets that identify the occupants.