Do you know the history of Ming Dynasty(明朝)? If you are not clear about it, the Ming Tombs(明十二陵) are the key way for you to learn about.
The Ming Tombs are at the foot of the Tianshou Mountain, about 50km northwest of Beijing. Of all the 16 Ming Dynasty kings, there were13 kings lying there. The Ming Tombs have over an area of 40 acers(公顷). The main road to the tombs was very wonderful. On both sides were24 stone animals and 12 stone officials.
In 1424, The Yongle King, Zhu Di, was the first one to lie there, and his tomb was called the Changling. His father, Zhu Yuanzhang opened up the Ming Dynasty and he was in a tomb in Nanjing, and the second Ming King, didn't have a record in history. The last one of the Ming Dynasty hanged himself in 1644 when Beijing fell to the hand of Li Zecheng. So three kings were not in the Ming Tombs there, that's why it was called Shisanling.
