Labels:text | plaque OCR: Changling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty Changling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty, situated in front of the main peak of Tianshou Mountain, was built in the seventh year of Emperor Yongle's reign (1409 A.D.). Here were buried Zhu Di, Emperor Yongle and Empress Xu. The Mausoleum, covering 120 square kilometres, was the first and the earliest of the 13 Ming Tombs. Surrounded by mountains, the tomb site was interlaced by streams. The main part of the mausoleum was the tomb palace which covered an area of 120,000-square-metres. The main buildings include Treasure City ( In it was the tomb. Under it was Xuangong Palace. In front of it were Square City and Tower of Brightness), Ling'en Hall, Ling'en Gate, Side Hall on the left, Side Hall on the right, Divine Silk Burner, Divine Kitchen, Divine Warehouse, 超模公德建 Abbatoir Pavilion and Dressing Hall. Among them, the Treasure City was 300 metres in diameter. The Ling'en Hall had nine main rooms with 15 rooms each in the left and right side halls. Changling Mausoleum was the largest mausoleum in" Tianshou Mountain. The Divine Way in front of the tomb palace, about 8 kilometres, was long and zigzagging. Along the way were built Stone Arch, Grand Red Gate, Stele Pavilion of Imperial Deeds, Stone Sculptures, Dragon and Phoenix Gate and bridges. On the left and right side of the tomb palace were tombs of Emperor Yongle's concubine respectively called East Well and West Well. Changling Mausoleum, solemn, elegant and harmonious with the surrounding beautiful scenes, was indeed a model of ancient Chinese architectural art. 1998
