The Ming Tombs was our afternoon stop on our second day. The Ming Tombs are a group of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty. The majority of them are located in a cluster near Beijing and are collectively known as the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty. With all due respect to the Ming emperors, I was far more captivated by the Sacred Way road.

We were told that the Emperor is known as the Son of the Heaven and that he came from heaven to his country through the Sacred Way and of course he would deservedly return to heaven through this same road. So the Sacred Way (generically) is the road leading to heaven and connected to the imperial necropolises. This particular Sacred Way is connected to the Ming Tombs.

The Sacred Way starts with a huge stone memorial archway. It’s a relatively straight road lined with stone statues. Most sacred ways have 18 pairs of statues, usually with 12 human figures and 24 animals including lions, camels, elephants, horses, and mythical and divine animals. The animals symbolize various things. The lion symbolizes awesome solemnity because of their ferocity. Camels and elephants symbolize the vastness of the territory controlled by the emperor. Horses are the emperor’s mount. A sign on the Sacred Way said that these stone animals were erected in the period from 1436 to 1438.

I loved walking the Sacred Way road. It was serene, beautiful, peaceful, and dramatic. I could also imagine the occasion of an emperor’s last ride to his tomb. Vicky, of course, especially loved the horses.

There were very few other people visiting here so it really was very peaceful. I added this last photo to again emphasize the size of these figures.