Qian Ling is 80km northwest of Xi’an (daily 8am-5pm; RMB30), and usual- ly the second tomb tour after Mao Ling. To get here under your own steam, take tour line #2 at the Xl’an train station, fi-om across the con- course on the east side in front of the Jiefang Hotel. From Xi’an’s long-distance bus station, you can go to Qianxian, and then hire a rickshaw the rest of the way. This hill tomb, on the slopes of’ Liang Shan is where Emperor Gao Zong and his empress Wu Zetian were buried in the seventh century.
The Imperial Way is lined with carved stone figures of men and flying horses, and by two groups of now headless mourners - guest princes and envoys from tribute states, some with their names on their backs. The tall stele on the left praises Gao Zong; opposite is the uninscribed Wordless Stele, erected by the empress to mark the supreme power that no words could express.
Seventeen lesser tombs are contained in the southeast section of’ the area. Among the five excavated since 1960 here is the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai, second son of Gao Zong, forced to commit suicide by his mother. At this tomb you walk down into a vault frescoed with army and processional scenes, a lovely tiger with a perm in the dip on either side. One (fresco shows the court’s welcome to visiting foreigners, with a hook-nosed Westerner depicted. There are also vivid frescoes of (polo playing and, in the museum outside, some ‘Fang pottery horses.
Princess Yong Tai’s tomb is the finest here - she was the empero
r’s granddaughter, who died at the age of 17. Niches in the wall hold funeral offerings, and the vaulted roof still has traces of painted patterns. The passage walls leading down the ramp into the tomb are covered with murals of animals and guards of honour.The court ladies are still clear, elegant and charming after 1300 years, displaying Tang hairstyles and dress. At the bottom is the great tomb
Related Information :
