Qianling: Tomb of Princess Yongtai

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		-- Famen Temple -- Maoling Mausoleum -- Mt. Huashan -- Qianling Tomb -- Tomb of Crown Prince Zhanghuai -- Tomb of Crown Prince Yide -- Tomb of Huo Qubing -- Tomb of Princess Yongtai -- Xianyang Terra-Cotta Museum -- Zhaoling Tomb

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Tomb of Princess Yongtai

This was the first tomb to be excavated and remains the most impressive of all the satellite tombs in Qianling.

Princess Yongtai was the grand daughter of Tang Emperor Gaozong and his wife Empress Wu Zetian. Her husband was Wu Yanji, son of Wu Chengsi, who was Wu Zetian's nephew. In 701, Princess Yongtai died in Luoyang, at the age of 17.The epitaph appears that she died in childbirth, however, the real reason was considered a mystery. And in 705 A.D., Emperor Zhongzong ordered to bury his daughter and her husband together in the Qianling Tomb.

In front of Princess Yongtai the road is lined with a pair of stone lions, two pairs of stone figures, and a pair of obelisks (ornamental stone columns). The tomb is pyramid-shaped, 87.5 meters long and 3.9 meters wide with a chamber 16.7 meters deep. A tunnel leads to the tomb with charming murals of on the walls. They represent court attendants, almost all of them women, wearing the elegant central Asian fashions of the day. On the walls are six small niches in which a multitude of tri-color glazed pottery figure, poetry and porcelain wares were placed. The burial chamber represents the house where Princess lived.

The Tomb

About 1,000 valuable cultural artifacts found in the tomb include murals, pottery and wooden figurines, tri-color glazed pottery figurines, gold vessels, jade articles, and copper wares. The glazed tri-color pottery figurines demonstrate the high artistic achievements in the Tang dynasty. The antechamber represents the drawing room with murals mainly depicted elegantly dressed women attendants. You cannot find two identical in facial expression.

Some appears in whispers, others in nodding. On the ceiling of the chamber are painted celestial figures of a triple-leg rooster symbolizing the sun and a Jade Hare representing the moon with the Milky Way in between. It reveals the developed astronomy at that time.

In the rear chamber are stone coffins of Princess Yongtai and her husband. The coffins comprise of two - the inner and the outer. The outer palace-like coffin was beautifully engraved with exquisite figures, birds and flowers with a lady on each side. The inner wooden coffin had completely rotted away due to its long-time saturation in silt. While some archaeologists suspect that the princess's actual remains were buried secretly nearby.

Admission: 21 (RMB)