Shuangru Mountain Han Tomb

Shuangru Mountain Han Tomb

The Shuangru Mountain Han Tomb is a cultural tourism attraction.

Located at the summit of Shuangru Mountain, 15 kilometers southwest of Changqing District in Jinan City, this is the tomb of a feudal prince. According to archaeological experts, the tomb's owner was Liu Kuan, the last ruler of the Jibei Kingdom of the Western Han Dynasty during the late reign of Emperor Wu.

The Shuangru Mountain Han Tomb is a large stone-chambered wooden-chamber tomb, carved directly into the mountain. The basic structure of vertical pit wooden-chamber tombs from the Han Dynasty is the same as that of pre-Qin wooden-chamber tombs, namely a rectangular pit dug vertically downward from the ground surface to serve as the burial chamber for the coffin and outer coffin. The outer coffin chamber is generally rectangular in shape, with the boards joined primarily through groove-and-tenon or mortise-and-socket joints. The interior can be further divided into compartments of various sizes to hold the coffin and burial objects. Outside the coffin chamber, different types of fill soil are used, typically white clay and charcoal for moisture prevention, with drainage facilities occasionally found in some tombs. For convenience during excavation, the tomb pit entrance is often shaped like an inverted bucket. Additionally, within regions influenced by Chu culture, tomb passages are a fairly common feature, likely added for construction ease and not necessarily indicative of the tomb owner’s social status.

The main tomb of Shuangru Mountain covers an area of over 1,500 square meters. The total volume of rock excavated reached 8,500 cubic meters. Over 2,000 precious artifacts were unearthed from the Shuangru Mountain Han Tomb, including jade swords and jade funeral masks. To date, it is the only excavated Han tomb in China that has never been looted. It is listed as part of the fifth group of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.

The Shuangru Mountain Han Tomb was excavated between 1995 and 1996. More than 2,000 funerary objects were recovered. The tomb owner rested their head on a jade pillow and had a jade funeral mask covering the face — both the jade mask and pillow are particularly unique. The jade funeral mask consists of 18 pieces covering the forehead, cheeks, nose, chin, and ears, all strung together with silk thread in a well-coordinated, cohesive design. The jade nose cover features both openwork carving and cloud-thunder patterns, making it even rarer. The jade pillow is composed of nine jade pieces, three jade panels, two jade tiger head ornaments, and a wooden core. It is adorned with taotie ring handles on the sides and four dragon-shaped bronze feet at the corners. The structure is ingeniously designed and the decoration is luxurious.

Scenic Area Address: Summit of Shuangru Mountain, Guide Town, Changqing District, Jinan City

Transportation: Take a bus to Shuangru Village, Guide Town, Changqing District, Jinan City, to reach the site.