Zhaoling lies about 70 kilometres northwest of Xi'an, in Liquan county, and holds the tomb of Emperor Taizong, the second Tang emperor, who ruled from 626 to 649 and is remembered as one of the most capable rulers in Chinese history. Instead of building a mound on the plain, his tomb was cut into the flank of Jiuzong Mountain, and the mountain itself became the monument.
The site today
Zhaoling is an unusual visit. There is no excavated burial chamber, no treasury of objects to walk through, and the landscape is farmland and dry hills. What you see is a long sacred way climbing towards the mountain, the foundations of offering halls and gate towers, several satellite tombs of generals and officials scattered across the surrounding fields, and stone sculpture from the early Tang period still in its original position.
The six steeds
Taizong commissioned reliefs of the six horses that carried him through his campaigns, carved in high relief on stone panels and set into the wall of the northern gate area of his tomb. Two of the originals were taken abroad in the early twentieth century and are held in an American museum; the others are in the Shaanxi History Museum and the Xi'an Beilin museum. Replicas stand at the site, and the horse he rode at the battle of Hulao is the one most often reproduced.
Practical information
Zhaoling is not on the standard tourist route and there is no metro or convenient public transport. Most visitors go by hired car, which takes about ninety minutes each way, or stop here on the way to or from Qianling. The site is open daily with a modest ticket price; there is very little English signage, so a driver-guide or a good offline description makes a real difference. Bring water and sun protection - there is almost no shade on the sacred way.
Who should go
Travellers with a specific interest in the Tang dynasty or in archaeology will find Zhaoling rewarding precisely because it is unexcavated and unhurried. Those looking for a monument comparable to the Terracotta Army should choose Qianling Mausoleum or the Shaanxi History Museum instead.
