Eastern and Western Qing Tombs

Less visited but more intriguing than the Ming Tombs, the Qing royal cemeteries are split be-tween two far-flung sites because of a fratricide’s guilt. Emperor Kangxi’s son Yongzheng usurped the throne from his brother, the designated heir, and executed him and his ministers. Worried about familial wrath in the afterlife, Yongzheng picked a burial site on the opposite side of the capital from his father. Subsequent emperors kept up the tradition of alternating between the two cemeteries. The most magnificent of the eastern tombs, Emperor Qianlong’s mausoleum was blasted open and plundered by the warlord Sun Dianying
in 1928, with the unintentional upside that today’s tourists can enter the magnificent interior. Thieves also couldn’t resist plundering Empress Dowager Cixi’s tomb, which cost 8 million taels of silver, but fortunately the real attractions are the spectacular carvings above ground. All the Western Qing Tombs are open to visi-tors. The mausoleum of Jiaqing's empress features an echo wall similar to the one in the Temple of Heaven: it’s quiet enough here for visitors to actually hear the effects. The impressive Yongfu Temple is also on the grounds, and the surrounding mountains make for excellent short hikes. Pity the last emperor Puyi, who only gets a plot in a nearby commercial cemetery. 4pm (winter). RMB 120 (access to all tombs). Zunhua County, Hebei province. (031 5694 5471) 清东陵，河北省遵化县
Approx. distance: 150km
Bus: Catch a bus headed for Zunhua (遵化) from the Sihui long-distance bus station (south of the Sihui subway station, 四惠长途汽车站). Get off at Shimen (石门). From there the cab ride should be RMB 10. Alternatively,
there are direct tourist buses (8353 1111, 800 810 4001) to the Eastern Qing Tombs from the Xuanwumen Church and Qianmen every weekend.
Car: Take the Jingshen Expressway, exit at the tollgate
for Baodi (宝坻) in Tianjin and follow signs on to the Jinji (津蓟) Expressway. Take the expressway until it ends at Jixian (蓟县). After the Jixian tollgate, continue north to the Jixian Roundabout (蓟县环岛), turn right and go east until you reach the end of the road at a tollbooth on Provincial Road 302. Take the first left after the tollgate.
Western Qing Tombs Daily 8am-6pm (summer); 8.30am-5pm (winter). RMB 122 (access to all tombs). Yixian County, Hebei province. (031 2471 0012) 清西陵，河北省易县
Approx. distance: 240km
Bus: At the Lize Qiao (丽泽桥) long-distance bus station on Southwest Third Ring Road, talk to some of the people hawking rides for Yixian County (易县). Most of them will stop at the Western Qing Tombs. If you’re lucky, the ride (RMB 20) is two hours; if un-lucky, four hours. Inside the station they sell tickets that cost twice as much, and you have to overshoot the Tombs to Yixian and get another bus.
Car: Take the Jingshi Expressway for about 70km and exit at Gaobeidian (高碑店). Turn right onto National Road 112 (112国道), heading west. Take 112 past Laishui County (涞水县) and Yixian County (易县) and follow signs to the tombs.