Qing Dingling

Qing Dingling

Dingling is the mausoleum of Emperor Xianfeng, located in Ping’an Valley at the westernmost end of the Qing Eastern Tombs. Construction of Dingling began on April 13, 1859 (the ninth year of the Xianfeng reign) and was completed in December 1866 (the fifth year of the Tongzhi reign), taking a total of seven and a half years. The project consumed a total of 3,134,547 taels of silver.

The site for Dingling was selected by officials including the Jiangxi Governor and the Minister of Personnel. Emperor Xianfeng himself visited the location and deemed Ping’an Valley to be “with the dragon coiling to the left, the tiger crouching to the right, the body-protecting ‘cicada-wing’ and ‘ox-horn’ sand formations faintly encircling; the shrimp-whisker and goldfish waterways clearly delineated, with spiritual energy concentrated and the burial site genuinely auspicious… truly an exceptionally propitious land.”

Although construction of Dingling began in the ninth year of Xianfeng’s reign, large-scale building efforts only commenced after his death. Shortly after work started, a debate arose over the scale of Dingling’s design. Song Jin, Vice Minister of Works, argued that Mu Ling (the mausoleum of Emperor Xianfeng’s father) had eliminated structures such as the large stele tower, stone statues, the two-pillar gate, the square city, and the ming tower, while also reducing the size of the Long’en Hall and side halls. This made it simple and unadorned, saving manpower. Moreover, since the bodies of Emperor Xianfeng and his empress were awaiting burial, the imperial tomb project should proceed swiftly, following the model of Mu Ling. Song Jin’s suggestion was strongly refuted by Yikuang, Prince Gong, and others. Ultimately, the two dowager empresses adopted Yikuang’s proposal, primarily adhering to the traditional design of ancestral mausoleums, while also following Mu Ling’s example by eliminating the large stele tower and the two-pillar gate, and by not carving any Buddhist images or statues inside the underground palace. The design of Dingling served as a blueprint for later imperial tombs such as Hui Ling and Chong Ling, playing a connecting role between past and future.

The materials used in Dingling fall into two categories: those procured during Emperor Xianfeng’s lifetime and those transported from various regions after his death, and secondly, recycled materials from the former Baohua Valley Mausoleum. Baohua Valley was originally intended as the burial site for Emperor Daoguang but was abandoned due to water leakage in the underground palace. The use of these old materials was mainly to save costs and also to shorten the construction period. According to archival records, most of the reused materials were stone, including 65 large white stone pieces such as stone gates, stone statues, and stone pillars, 605,464 old bricks, 62 old partition doors, and 24 old lattice windows—resulting in savings of more than 200,000 taels of silver.

The underground palace of Dingling features progressively rising levels with a compact layout and well-arranged variations in height, creating a distinct sense of layering. The underground palace houses the remains of Emperor Xianfeng and his Empress Xiaodexian.

Attraction Location

Ping’an Valley, Qingdongling (Qing Eastern Tombs), Dongling Township, Zunhua City, Tangshan, Hebei Province — the westernmost part of the Qing Eastern Tombs boundary