Lingkou

Lingkou

Lingkou is a cultural tourism attraction.

Lingkou is located in the southeast corner of Lingkou Town, Danyang City, and served as the entrance to the imperial tombs of the Qi and Liang dynasties during the Southern Dynasties period. Both the Qi and Liang dynasties had their capitals in Jiankang (present-day Nanjing). At that time, princes and high-ranking officials would visit the tombs by traveling upstream along the Qinhuai River, passing through the Pogang Canal, crossing the Twenty-Four Culverts to reach Danyang, and then entering Xiaogang through Lingkou to access the various mausoleums. Notable tombs include the Yong’an Tomb of Emperor Xiaowu of Qi, Xiao Chengzhi; the Jing’an Tomb of Emperor Wu of Qi, Xiao Ze; the Xiuan Tomb of Emperor Jing of Qi, Xiao Daosheng; the An’an Tomb of Emperor Ming of Qi, Xiao Luan; the Jian Tomb of Emperor Wen of Liang, Xiao Shunzhi; the Xiuling Tomb of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan; the Zhuang Tomb of Emperor Jianwen of Liang, Xiao Gang; as well as the unlocated tombs in Jinjiacun and Shuijingshancun.

The tombs have been subject to looting or damage, and what remains today are mainly the stone carvings in front of the tombs, including spirit way stone pillars, stone qilin (mythical beasts), stone tianlu (heavenly deer), and stone bixie (mythical guardians). These form a collection of exquisite and grand stone carving artworks. The imperial tombs of the Southern Dynasties are designated as National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.