Ding Ling Travel Guide

Brief Introduction
The splendid Ding Ling is the tomb of Emperor Wanli, Zhu Yijun, the 13th emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He ruled his great empire for 48 years, the longest for his whole dynasty. Ding Ling is the third largest after Chang Ling and Yong Ling.

It is a magnificent building wholly made of stone and bricks, which may explains why it can survive. So far, Ding Ling is the only one that has been opened for archeological purpose. The underground palace is 27 meters deep with a total floor space of 1,195 square meters.

It consists of five chambers: the antechamber, the central chamber, the rear chamber and two annex chambers on both sides of the central chamber. All of these chambers were built of stones, without using a single beam or column. The rear chamber is the main and the largest one in the underground palace.

It is 30 meters long, 9.5 meters high and 9 meters wide, where three coffins (the largest one in the middle was for the emperor and the smaller one on two sides for the empresses).

Features
Dingling Tomb is the representative royal tomb of the Ming Dynasty tombs.