Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum: The Spirit of the Ming Dynasty Within an Imperial Tomb
The stone elephant path, over six hundred years old, is a ceremonial procession paved by time. The stone carvings along the spirit path stand solemnly like ancient guardians, camel humps carrying the winds of the Western Regions, and qilin bearing the majesty of the dynasty, leading step by step towards the entrance to the underground palace deep in the foothills of Zijin Mountain.
Here lies Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and Empress Ma, but it is more than just an imperial tomb. Hidden within the winding red walls is the architectural wisdom of "one mausoleum, two systems," the bricks of the square city's Ming Tower are engraved with the names of the craftsmen, and the inscriptions on the steles of the four-sided city record the ambition of the newly established dynasty. Every bluestone tells a story: this is not a cold relic, but an epic of the Ming Dynasty written in brick and stone.