Tomb of An Bing

Tomb of An Bing

The Tomb of An Bing is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Tomb of An Bing is located 2 kilometers from Huaying City, in Zhaoxun Village, Shuanghe Town. It sits against the rolling hills of the Huaying Mountains and overlooks the winding Qu River. The tomb complex consists of five burial chambers covering an area of over 3 acres. The tomb owner was An Bing, a Grand Scholar of the Political Affairs Institute and Deputy Prime Minister during the Southern Song Dynasty. In 1996, after its excavation, the site was ranked among China's top ten archaeological discoveries.

On the left side of the mountain path, the first tomb is the Tomb of An Bing (Tomb No. 2), and the second is the Tomb of An Bing’s wife, Lady Li (Tomb No. 1). On the right side of the path, the first is the Tomb of An Bing’s granddaughter, An Baosun (also known as Tomb No. 3, commonly called the Daughter’s Tomb), followed by Tomb No. 4, and then Tomb No. 5.

The Tomb of An Bing is 6.5 meters long, 3.5 meters wide, and 4.5 meters high. The interior is constructed with massive stones imitating wooden structures. At the center of the rear niche is a seated statue of An Bing, flanked by statues of his wives, Lady Li and Lady Zheng. Over 600 artifacts have been unearthed from the site, including gold coins, silverware, bronze coins, stone statues, and jade Go pieces, along with 5,000 characters of epitaph text that corroborate the historical records in the “History of Song: Biography of An Bing.”

The An Bing Family Tomb is currently the highest-ranking official tomb and features the most exquisitely carved stone work among excavated Song Dynasty tombs in Sichuan. It holds significant research value in politics, military affairs, history, art, and architecture, as well as great potential for tourism development. In July 2001, the Tomb of An Bing was designated as part of the fifth group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.