Dingling Tomb Museum

Located at the eastern foot of the Dayu Mountains, Dingling is the joint burial tomb of the 13th emperor Zhu Yi Jun and his two empresses. Zhu Yi Jun (1563 – 1620), whose reign title was Wanli and posthumous title was Zhenzong, ascended the throne at the age of 10 and ruled for 48 years until he died at the age of 58. It took 6 years to build Dingling, construction of which started in Nov. 1584 and ended in June 1590. Dingling covers an area of 180,000 square meters.

The Underground Palace of Dingling is the only one of the Ming Tombs excavated so far. With the approval of State Council, the trial excavation started in May 1956 and was finished one year later. With a total floor space of 1,295 square meters, the Underground Palace is composed of five stone chambers: the front chamber, the middle chamber, the rear chamber, and the left and right annex chambers. More than 3,000 pieces of cultural relics were unearthed from Dinglin. In 1959, Dingling Museum was set up at the original site and was opened to the public. 

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