Previous   Next
Home » Images » 0010 Pictures From History » CPA0004995

China: Qianling Tombs, Shaanxi; Male figures in a procession, from a wall fresco in Li Xian's tomb, dated 706 AD.

China: Qianling Tombs, Shaanxi; Male figures in a procession, from a wall fresco in Li Xian's tomb, dated 706 AD.

The Qianling Mausoleum is a Tang Dynasty (618–907) tomb site located in Qian County, Shaanxi province, China, and is 85 km (53 miles) northwest of Xi'an, the former Tang capital.

Built by 684 (with additional construction until 706), the tombs of the mausoleum complex house the remains of various members of the royal Li family. This includes Emperor Gaozong of Tang (r. 649–683), as well as his wife, the Zhou Dynasty usurper and China's first (and only) governing empress Wu Zetian (r. 690–705).

The mausoleum is renowned for its many Tang Dynasty stone statues located above ground and the mural paintings adorning the subterranean walls of the tombs. Besides the main tumulus mound and underground tomb of Gaozong and Wu Zetian, there is a total of 17 smaller attendant tombs.

Quick links to other images in this gallery: