[2024 Gongyi Attraction] Travel Guide for Northern Song Dynasty Mausoleum (Updated Oct)
Cemeteries
Address:
84, Du Fu Road, Gongyi City, Zhengzhou City
Opening times:
Open year round, 24/7Open
Recommended sightseeing time:
1 day
Phone:
0371-64571899
Northern Song Imperial Mausoleums.
🐉The Northern Song Dynasty had seven emperors and eight mausoleums. In addition to the two emperors who were captured by the Jin Dynasty, the mausoleums also include the father of Zhao Kuangyin and many other princes and nobles, forming a large area of Northern Song Imperial Mausoleums in Gongyi. The Northern Song Dynasty established its capital in Kaifeng, but the mausoleums were in Gongyi. It is said that Zhao Kuangyin wanted to move the capital to Luoyang but was stopped by Zhao Kuangyi and his ministers. When he passed by Gongyi, he decided to be buried with his father.
🐉The Northern Song Imperial Mausoleums can be described as an open-air museum of stone carvings. The stone statues on both sides of the sacred path are exquisitely carved. There are elephants that are considered to ward off evil spirits, sheep that are considered auspicious, guards with knives, ministers with memorials, and of course, indispensable lions. The entire ground building is very grand, no less than the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing. The stone carvings are also tall and mighty, making them more magnificent than the stone statues of the Qianling Mausoleum where Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Wu Zetian are buried.
🇨🇳Appreciate the 5,000-year-old Chinese civilization and inherit the Chinese civilization
BHD. Sam 2818
A Journey to Encounter the Ancients (Part III)
Itinerary Change
In the evening, while researching the state of Kaifeng in Lankao, reports indicated that the scenic area was already overcrowded, with vehicles taking two to three hours to enter the city. Thus, I looked up Luoyang and, surprisingly, it was even more popular than Kaifeng.
I decided to change the itinerary, avoiding the big cities and heading directly to Gongyi, located between Zhengzhou and Luoyang, to play. From there, I would head north to plan further.
The Watcher of the Wheat Fields
The Song Tombs in Gongyi are a melancholic place. The tombs of seven emperors from the Northern Song Dynasty are buried here. Due to the wars of the Northern Song Dynasty and the retreat to the south, the Jin Dynasty looted the tombs severely, leaving the Song Tombs almost entirely plundered, with only the stone statues on the Spirit Way remaining. The only intact palace is the Yongzhao Mausoleum in the Song Tombs Park, which is also the tomb of Emperor Renzong of Song.
Yonghou Mausoleum is next to Yongzhao Mausoleum. The palace buildings are gone, but the stone statues on the Spirit Way are relatively intact, surrounding the huge and lonely tomb mound.
In fact, seeking the secluded and exploring the ancient is most appropriate for the season.
A few fitness enthusiasts looked at me, and I chatted with an old man wearing a red armband, learning that Yonghou Mausoleum was the most thoroughly looted. The reason was that the burial records were too detailed, allowing the Jin army to search and loot thoroughly.
Autumn here must be beautiful.
The tombs of other emperors are not far away, some by the roadside, some requiring a few steps off the road, but the most representative are the Yongzhao Mausoleum and Yonghou Mausoleum in the city center.
Kang Baiwan's Mansion
Just past the God of Wealth Festival, I heard that there were many people here that day, hoping to share in Kang Baiwan's wealth. The mansion is twelve kilometers from the Song Tombs, requiring a river crossing, but it is very convenient.
Kang Baiwan's Mansion is the financial deity capital of Henan.
Therefore, there are many visitors. In fact, the mansion can be divided into two main parts: the front is the business office area, with the underground vault being the most interesting. The back is the residential living area, similar to a huge village, with the highlights being the rooms and the large bed where Empress Dowager Cixi stayed when she fled through here.
The mansion is similar to the manors in Shanxi, but not as large. In Henan, it's already quite big.
The Grotto Temple
I didn't know Gongyi had such a grotto temple.
The grotto temple is ten kilometers from Kang Baiwan's Mansion, just a short drive away, with few people, but the visitors are very serious, not the kind of bustling scenic area.
Research indicates that this grotto temple dates back to the Northern Wei Dynasty, carved after the Longmen Grottoes. Although smaller in scale, its artistic value is not to be underestimated. Standing on the outside corridor, the standing Buddha on the outer rock wall doesn't seem very tall, but the interior of the cave is absolutely stunning. In an instant, it feels like being in Dunhuang. Most of the Dunhuang Grottoes are paintings, but here they are all sculptures, with Buddhas on all four sides of the central pillar, auspicious clouds on the ceiling, thousands of Buddhas on the walls, and exotic gods, musical instruments, and Vajra on the dado, all inspiring admiration.
Whether you are an expert or not doesn't matter; the exquisite works alone are enough to amaze you. I praised the folds in the Buddha's robes and the mysterious smiles.
There are not many grottoes, five in total, but not enough time to appreciate them.
As the gatekeeper says, you can finish in an hour or you can look for several days, depending on your perspective and needs on the grottoes.
This place is definitely worth a visit.
Remember, you must come to the Grotto Temple in Gongyi!
Xinxiang
After visiting the grotto temple in the afternoon, we once again studied the route, checking the status of Jincheng in Shanxi and Yuntai Mountain.
Both were overcrowded.
We decided on the spot to continue northward to Xinxiang.
The purpose of going to Xinxiang was to make the most of the two hours in the afternoon to head north. The Xiangtangshan Grottoes, closer to Hebei, were included in the subsequent plan. Unexpectedly, in Xinxiang, we encountered a new scenic spot, an unexpected gain.
ZARIA WALTERS
The yellow sand is scattered, and the loess buries the soul | Gongyi, Henan, the mausoleum of the Northern Song Dynasty emperors
【Yu Jian Central Plains·Gongyi·The wind and sand are scattered, the loess buries the soul】Don't underestimate Gongyi! The legendary stories of the Yellow Emperor's 'altar sinking wall', Fuxi's performance of the Eight Diagrams, Yao and Shun's 'sacrifice to heaven and abdication', Houyi's shooting of the sun, and King Tang of Shang's 'prayer for rain in the mulberry forest' all took place here; the production kiln site of 'Luoyang Tang Sancai' is here; the birthplace of the poet Du Fu is here; most importantly, Gongyi is the location of the mausoleum of the Northern Song Dynasty! Here lie 7 emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty and famous ministers such as Kou Zhun and Bao Zheng. All the imperial tombs have been robbed, leaving only the stone statues that have stood for a thousand years silently guarding this land, which is really sighing! The mausoleums of the Northern Song Dynasty are scattered, with 7 emperors and 8 mausoleums. The weather is hot, we chose to visit Yongzhao Mausoleum (my favorite Emperor Renzong) in the city and Yongyu Mausoleum in the outskirts of Gongyi, where the stone statues are best preserved. The stone statues are much taller than I imagined, showing the royal style, and the carvings are exquisite, which is the pinnacle of Northern Song stone carving art!
Tips: Among the 9 emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty, except for Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong who were captured by the Jin Dynasty, the remaining 7 emperors and the father of Zhao Kuangyin were all buried in Gongyi, commonly known as the Seven Emperors and Eight Mausoleums, namely Xuanzu (Zhao Hongyin) Yongan Mausoleum, Taizu (Zhao Kuangyin) Yongchang Mausoleum, Taizong (Zhao Guangyi) Yongxi Mausoleum, Zhenzong (Zhao Heng) Yongding Mausoleum, Renzong (Zhao Zhen) Yongzhao Mausoleum, Yingzong (Zhao Shu) Yonghou Mausoleum, Shenzong (Zhao Xu) Yongyu Mausoleum, Zhezong (Zhao Xu) Yongtai Mausoleum.
📝Note tips:
The mausoleums of the Northern Song Dynasty are scattered and far apart, it is recommended to travel by car