China Guide
Around Beijing
The Ming Tombs
After their deaths, all but three of the sixteen Ming-dynasty emperors were entombed in giant underground vaults, the Shisan Ling (usually called the Ming Tombs in English), around a valley 40km northwest of Beijing. The location, chosen for its landscape of gentle hills and woods, is one of the loveliest around the capital, the site marked above ground by grand halls and platforms. That said, unless you've a strong archeological bent, a trip here isn't worth making for its own sake, though the tombs are very much on the tour circuit, being on the way to Badaling Great Wall.
The site also makes a nice place to picnic, especially if you just feel like taking a break from the city and its more tangible sights. To get the most out of the place, it's best not to stick to the tourist route between the car park and Ding Ling, but to spend a day here and hike around the smaller tombs farther into the hills. You'll need a map to do this – you'll find one on the back of some Beijing city maps, or you can buy one at the site (¥6).
The easiest way to get to the Ming Tombs is to take any of the tourist buses that go to Badaling, 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. To get there on ordinary public transport, take bus #845 from Xizhimen to the terminus at Changping, then get bus #345 the rest of the way. All buses drop you at a car park in front of one of the tombs, Ding Ling, where you buy your entrance ticket (¥35).