Located at the foot of Yongning Mountain, 15 kilometers west of Lianggezhuang, Yixian County, Baoding City, Hebei Province, the Western Qing Tombs Scenic Area is a national 5A-level tourist attraction and a World Cultural Heritage site. It is also one of the largest and best-preserved groups of imperial mausoleums from the Qing Dynasty in China. Bordered by Yongning Mountain in the north and the Yishui River in the south, the scenic area covers approximately 800 square kilometers, with a core mausoleum area of about 40 square kilometers. Composed of 14 imperial, imperial consort, and prince mausoleums, it serves as a model of Qing Dynasty imperial mausoleum architecture.
The scenic area features more than 1,000 palace-style buildings and over 100 stone carvings and structures, including four imperial tombs (Tailing for Yongzheng, Changling for Jiaqing, Muling for Daoguang, and Chongling for Guangxu), three empress tombs, as well as consort gardens and prince gardens. The architectural layout strictly follows the regulations of Qing Dynasty mausoleums, distributed symmetrically along the central axis, embodying the ritual ideology of "respecting the center as the supreme." It is also organically integrated with natural landscape, forming a unique pattern of "mausoleum system matching the landscape."
History and Culture
The Western Qing Tombs were first constructed in the 8th year of the Yongzheng reign (1730) and completed in 1915 with the construction of Guangxu's Chongling, spanning 185 years. Emperor Yongzheng ordered the selection of a new mausoleum site in Yixian County, believing that the Jiufeng Chaoyang Mountain in the Eastern Qing Tombs had "soil mixed with sand and stones," thus initiating the construction of the Western Qing Tombs. Thereafter, Emperors Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Guangxu were successively buried here, forming a royal mausoleum area echoing the Eastern Qing Tombs.
The architectural style of the Western Qing Tombs reflects the evolution of Qing Dynasty mausoleums. Yongzheng's Tailing uses yellow glazed tile roofs to highlight imperial dignity; Daoguang's Muling canceled the Ming Tower and Fang City due to national decline, but its Long'en Hall was built with golden nanmu wood, featuring exquisite woodcarvings of dragon patterns; Guangxu's Chongling integrated modern construction techniques, with the underground palace using reinforced concrete, making it the last imperial mausoleum in China. These buildings witnessed the historical process of the Qing Dynasty from prosperity to decline and serve as important physical materials for studying Qing Dynasty politics and culture.
Main Attractions
Tailing
Tailing, the first mausoleum of the Western Qing Tombs, is the tomb of Emperor Yongzheng, constructed from 1730 to 1739, covering about 124 hectares. From south to north, the mausoleum area includes a five-room, six-column, eleven-story stone archway, the Great Red Gate, the Shengde Shenggong Stele Pavilion, the Seven-Arch Bridge, stone statues, the Dragon and Phoenix Gate, and other buildings. The stone archway is one of the largest existing stone archways in China, and the 107-meter-long Seven-Arch Bridge is an important landmark of the mausoleum area. The Long'en Hall, hanging the plaque "Respect Heaven and Serve the People," is the core venue for sacrificial activities.
Changling
Changling, the tomb of Emperor Jiaqing, was built from 1796 to 1803, located west of Tailing. The 18 pairs of stone statues on the spirit path are vividly carved, and each gold brick paving the floor of the Long'en Hall cost the equivalent of a middle-class family's annual income. The underground palace of Changling is the only open imperial underground palace in the Western Qing Tombs, with the vault painted with Sanskrit and Buddhist figures, and the underground palace gates exquisitely carved, representing a typical example of Qing Dynasty mausoleum underground palaces.
Muling
Muling, the tomb of Emperor Daoguang, was constructed from 1831 to 1835, located southwest of Tailing. Its most distinctive feature is that the Long'en Hall and east-west auxiliary halls were all built with golden nanmu wood, showing the natural wood grain without painting. The beams, brackets, and other components in the hall are carved with more than a thousand cloud dragons and swimming dragons, with dragon heads facing downward and tails upward, as if a group of dragons were soaring into the sky, representing the peak of woodcarving art in the Qing Dynasty. Muling canceled the Ming Tower and Fang City, making it the most minimalist imperial mausoleum in the Qing Dynasty.
Chongling
Chongling, the tomb of Emperor Guangxu, was built from 1909 to 1915, being the last completed mausoleum in the Western Qing Tombs and the last imperial mausoleum in Chinese history. The underground palace adopts a brick-stone structure, with the vault poured with concrete, making it the only Qing Dynasty mausoleum using reinforced concrete. The underground palace houses Emperor Guangxu and Empress Longyu, with Buddhist murals on the walls, reflecting the integration of late Qing Dynasty mausoleum architecture and Buddhist culture.
Yongfu Temple
Built in 1786, Yongfu Temple is the only imperial temple in the Western Qing Tombs, located 5 kilometers east of Tailing, covering about 30,000 square meters. The temple consists of the mountain gate, bell tower, drum tower, archway, stele pavilion, front hall, main hall, rear hall, etc., serving as a well-preserved example of Qing Dynasty imperial temples. It enshrines Sakyamuni Buddha and other Buddhist figures, serving as a venue for the emperor to hold Buddhist activities during sacrificial visits to the mausoleums, embodying the Qing Dynasty's governing concept of "respecting heaven and following ancestors."
Cuisine
Yishui Lake Wild Fish
Yishui Lake abounds in wild carp, silver carp, etc., which are cooked locally by steaming, braising, etc. Among them, Braised Yishui Lake Fish is the most famous. Using about 500-gram lake fish, stewed with bean paste, Chinese prickly ash, and other seasonings, the fish is tender and the soup is rich, with an average consumption of about 50 yuan per person. It is recommended to taste it in farmhouses around Yishui Lake.
Yixian Mopan Persimmon
Yixian County is known as the "Hometown of Mopan Persimmons in China," and the persimmons produced here are named for their flat and round shape like a millstone. The fruit weighs 250-500 grams per piece, with a sugar content of over 18%, rich in vitamin C. When ripe in October each year, fresh persimmons and persimmon cakes are sold around the scenic area. Persimmon cakes are made by traditional sun-drying, soft, waxy, and sweet, priced at about 10 yuan per catty, making excellent gifts.
Manchu Eight Dishes
Manchu Eight Dishes are traditional delicacies around the Western Qing Tombs, including eight dishes such as snow vegetable fried small tofu, brined shrimp tofu eggs, braised pig's trotter, braised frog, chicken with mushroom and vermicelli, annual pork stewed with pickled cabbage, annual pork stewed with yam, and wild vegetable fried with black pork. With large portions and strong flavors, they reflect Manchu dietary characteristics. Main restaurants are located in Lianggezhuang Town, with an average consumption of about 60 yuan per person. Among them, annual pork stewed with pickled cabbage, using local black pork, is fat but not greasy, a must-order dish.
Laogao - Griddle Cake
Laogao is made by kneading glutinous rice flour with water into a dough, wrapping it with red bean paste, sugar, and other fillings, and grilling it on an iron plate. The finished product is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sweet and delicious, a common local snack. Sold at snack stalls and surrounding restaurants in the scenic area, each portion costs about 5 yuan, and it tastes better when hot, suitable as breakfast or refreshments.
Admission Tickets
The admission ticket is 108 yuan per person.
You can search for the official WeChat public account "清西陵景区" to get the latest updates or purchase tickets online.
Opening Hours
The scenic area is open year-round. Opening hours are: April 1 - October 31: 8:00 - 18:00 (last entry at 17:30); November 1 - March 31 of the following year: 8:30 - 17:00 (last entry at 16:30). It is closed on New Year's Eve (the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month), and opening hours from the first to the sixth day of the first lunar month are 8:00 - 16:30. Opening hours may be adjusted for major events or bad weather, subject to the scenic area's announcement.
Tour Routes
Classic One-Day Tour Route
In the morning, take a sightseeing bus from the visitor center to Tailing, visit the stone archway, Great Red Gate, Shengde Shenggong Stele Pavilion, etc., climb the Fangcheng Ming Tower to overlook the mausoleum area, about 2 hours; then go to Changling, visit the Long'en Hall and the underground palace, about 1.5 hours. Have lunch in Lianggezhuang Town to taste Manchu Eight Dishes. In the afternoon, go to Muling to appreciate the woodcarvings of the Golden Nanmu Hall, about 1 hour; then visit the underground palace of Chongling, about 1.5 hours; finally, go to Yongfu Temple to feel the atmosphere of the imperial temple, about 1 hour, ending the tour.
Cultural In-depth Two-Day Tour Route
On the first day, visit Tailing and Changling in the morning to deeply understand the early Qing Dynasty mausoleum culture; in the afternoon, visit Muling and Yongfu Temple, focusing on the woodcarving art of Muling and Buddhist culture, and stay in a Manchu-style homestay in the evening. On the second day, go to Chongling in the morning to visit the underground palace and Guangxu's life exhibition; in the afternoon, go to the Cultural Relics Management Office of the Western Qing Tombs to visit the historical and cultural exhibition, then go to Yishui Lake (20 kilometers from the scenic area, ticket 50 yuan) for a boat tour, experiencing the integrated beauty of landscape and mausoleums.
Transportation
- Self-driving: From Beijing, take Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway → Capital Ring Expressway, about 2.5 hours; from Tianjin, take Jinxiong Expressway → Capital Ring Expressway, about 3 hours; from Baoding, take Jingkun Expressway → Capital Ring Expressway, about 1.5 hours. The scenic area parking lot charges 10 yuan per hour.
- Long-distance Bus: Baoding Passenger Transport Center has direct buses, departing at 8:00, 10:00, 14:00, 16:00, fare 35 yuan, about 1.5 hours; Beijing Liuliqiao Bus Station has buses to Yixian County, then transfer to local buses to the scenic area.
- Train: Take a train from Beijing West Station to Baoding Station, then transfer to a long-distance bus; or take a high-speed rail to Baoding East Station, and take a taxi to the scenic area for about 150 yuan.
- Scenic Area Sightseeing Bus: The combo ticket includes sightseeing bus fare, with circular shuttles between attractions, departing every 20 minutes from 8:00 to 17:00.
Must-Visit Attractions
- Tailing: The first mausoleum of the Western Qing Tombs, with the stone archway and Seven-Arch Bridge as landmark buildings, recommended visit time 2 hours.
- Underground Palace of Changling: The only open imperial underground palace in the Western Qing Tombs, with exquisite carvings, recommended visit time 1.5 hours.
- Long'en Hall of Muling: Built with all golden nanmu wood, with more than a thousand dragon woodcarvings, recommended visit time 1 hour.
- Underground Palace of Chongling: The last imperial underground palace in China, integrating modern construction techniques, recommended visit time 1.5 hours.
- Yongfu Temple: The only imperial temple in the Western Qing Tombs, a well-preserved Qing Dynasty Buddhist building, recommended visit time 1 hour.
Tour Tips
- Recommended visit duration: 1-2 days. Spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October) have suitable climates; sun protection is needed in summer, and warmth preservation in winter.
- Attractions in the scenic area are scattered; it is recommended to take the sightseeing bus (included in the combo ticket) to avoid fatigue from walking.
- Rent a tour guide device (20 yuan per unit) or follow a guide to deeply understand the history and architectural details of the mausoleums, available for rent at the visitor center.
- Yishui Lake and the Western Qing Tombs can be visited in series. The cruise ship is 50 yuan per person, forming a unique landscape combination of lakes, mountains, and imperial mausoleums.
- Restaurants around the scenic area have large crowds in the peak season; it is recommended to book in advance. Manchu Eight Dishes and Yishui Lake wild fish are recommended.
Precautions
- There are many ancient buildings in the scenic area; touching or carving cultural relics is prohibited, and smoking is forbidden in non-smoking areas.
- Attractions like Tailing and Changling have many steps; non-slip shoes are recommended, and the elderly and children should pay attention to safety.
- The interior of the underground palace is dimly lit and the ground is slippery; pay attention to your steps when visiting, and avoid crowding or pushing.
- Self-driving tourists should park as specified, avoiding parking in non-parking areas to prevent penalties.
- Catering prices in the scenic area are slightly higher than in urban areas; you may appropriately bring your own drinking water and snacks, and maintain environmental hygiene.