Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
a century, he began building his tomb when he was 22, in line with common Ming practice,
and hosted a grand party within on its completion. The mausoleum, a short distance east of
Chang Ling, was opened up in 1956 and found to be substantially intact, revealing the em-
peror's coffin, flanked by those of two of his empresses, and floors covered with scores of
trunks containing imperial robes, gold and silver, and even the imperial cookbooks. Some of
the treasures are displayed in the tomb, a huge musty stone vault, undecorated but impressive
for its scale; others have been replaced by replicas. It's a cautionary picture of useless wealth
accumulation, as the tour guides are bound to point out.
Aviation Museum
航空博物馆
, hángkōng bówùguǎn • Off Shunsha Lu, Daxinshan Village • Tues-Sun 8.30am-5.30pm •
￥
50,
plus
￥
5 for Mao jet •
chn-am.com
•
￥
35 taxi ride from Shahe University Park subway (Changping Line,
accessible via Xi'erqi station on line 13),
￥
45 taxi ride from Ming Tombs or bus #912 from Andingmen sub-
way stop
Near the Ming Tombs some 60km north of Beijing in the village of Daxinshan, the enormous
Aviation Museum
is a fascinating place containing over three hundred aircraft, displayed in
a giant hangar inside a hollow mountain and off a runway-like concourse - it's like being in
a small airport. The aircraft on show range from the copy of the Wright brothers' plane flown
by Feng Ru, a pioneering Chinese aviator, in 1909, to Gulf War helicopter gunships. As well
as plenty of fighter planes, many of which saw action in the Korean War, the bomber that
flew in China's first atom bomb test is here, as is
Mao's personal jet
(with his teacup and
frilly cushions still inside) and the plane that scattered the ashes of the deceased Zhou Enlai,
which is covered with wreaths and tributes. But unless you have a special interest in aircraft,
it's the sight of archaic downed machines en masse - like the setting for a J.G. Ballard story
- that makes the place memorable.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: THE MING TOMBS
By bus
To get to the tombs on ordinary public transport, take bus #872 from Deshengmen
(hourly; 1hr;
￥
10). You can use this same bus to get from the Spirit Way to the tombs, though
you may be waiting a while. Buses drop you at a car park in front of Ding Ling.
By tourist bus
The easiest way to get to the Ming Tombs is to take a tourist bus that goes
to
Badaling
, some of which visit the tombs on the way to and from Beijing. You can get off
here, then rejoin another tourist bus later, either to continue to Badaling or to return to the
city.
By subway
By 2015 the Changping Line, accessible via Xi'erqi station in the far northwest
of Beijing on line 13, should have extended out to the tombs.
Tours
There are few, if any, dedicated tours to the Ming Tombs alone; they're usually in-
cluded with a visit to
Badaling
.
