Maoling Mausoleum

The Maoling Mausoleum, burial place of the Han Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC), is the largest imperial tomb mound in China — a grass-covered earthen pyramid ninety metres tall that rises from the flat Guanzhong Plain near Xingping City. Emperor Wu opened the Silk Road, expanded Han territory to its greatest extent, and built this tomb continuously for fifty-three years. It has never been excavated.

What you can see, however, is exceptional. The Maoling Museum, in the grounds around the mound, holds sixteen large stone sculptures recovered from the nearby tomb of Huo Qubing — the general who led the campaigns that drove the Xiongnu from the Hexi Corridor. The sculptures include a horse trampling a Xiongnu warrior (the most famous), a crouching tiger, a reclining elephant, a wild boar, and a fish. They are executed with a confident roughness — the animals emerge from the natural shape of the stone with minimal carving — that makes them feel more powerful than polished work. They are among the finest examples of Han monumental sculpture anywhere, and the Maoling Museum is one of the most rewarding stops in the entire Xi'an region.

The mausoleum is about forty kilometres west of Xi'an near Xingping. Tourist buses run from Xianyang and Xi'an, or the site can be combined with other tombs on a hired car day-trip.

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A story
Emperor Wu spent fifty-three years building his tomb — the longest construction period of any Han imperial mausoleum. He began in the first year of his reign and did not stop until his death. By the time he died, the burial goods accumulated were so extensive that there was reportedly not enough room to fit them all inside. Contemporary sources describe treasures being stacked in corridors and antechambers because the main burial chamber was full.