Mausoleum of the Kings of Hami

Mausoleum of the Kings of Hami

The Mausoleum of the Kings of Hami is a cultural tourism attraction.

Guide The Mausoleum of the Kings of Hami is located in Huicheng Township on the western outskirts of Hami City. It is referred to by the local Uyghur people as “Altunluk,” meaning “the Golden Land.” Introduction The King of Hami was actually a Uyghur feudal king. Before Xinjiang was established as a province by the Qing court, it was referred to as the Hui Region or Hui Frontier. Therefore, this Uyghur feudal ruler was known as the “King of Hami.” His domain covered all of Hami except for present-day Barkol, and also included present-day Shanshan.

In the 36th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty, which corresponds to 1697 AD, the first King of Hami, Emin Dorolla, was granted a title by the Qing court. At that time, he was not yet a “king” but held the title of Jasak First-Class Darhan. It was not until 1813, when the seventh king, Buzurg, inherited the title, that he was elevated to the rank of “Prince.” The title was then passed down to the ninth king, Shamsuddin. In 1930, Shamsuddin’s rule came to an end, marking a total of 127 years.

The Mausoleum of the Kings of Hami is, in fact, the tomb complex of three generations of the “Kings of Hami” from 1813 to 1930 — specifically, the tombs of the seventh to ninth kings of the Emin Dorolla family.

The architectural complex of the Mausoleum of the Kings of Hami covers an area of approximately 1.3 hectares, surrounded by walls, and is divided into three parts.

The first part was built in 1838 and is the grand mausoleum of the first King of Hami, Buzurg. It houses the remains of the first King, Buzurg, the second King, Muhammad, and 40 members of the royal family. This is a typical Islamic-style structure.

The mausoleum stands 17.8 meters tall and has a floor area of 1,500 square meters. The tomb chamber is square at the base and round at the top, with four corners featuring cylindrical columns inlaid with ceramic tiles, encircling the central dome. The entrance to the chamber is on the west side, flanked by four small pointed arch niches on each side. The interior walls are white with blue patterns. The entire structure is covered with green glazed bricks and tiles adorned with blue or green floral designs on a white background. The overall effect is elegant, solemn, and richly decorated, reflecting the grandeur of a royal mausoleum.

The first king was posthumously granted the title of “Heshuo Prince” by Emperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty for his role in transporting supplies during the suppression of the Junggar Rebellion. The Qing government also allocated 20,000 taels of silver to construct the mausoleum.

The second part consists of small wooden pavilion-style mausoleums located to the south of Buzurg’s mausoleum. Originally there were five, arranged from east to west, but only two remain intact today. These were the tombs that the last King of Hami, Shamsuddin, had built for himself during his lifetime.

From the outside, the upper part features an octagonal hip-and-gable roof with sloping eaves, supported by columns underneath; the middle section has a four-sloped roof; and the lower part is a square brick structure enclosing the tomb chamber. Both the interior and exterior feature upturned eaves and carved beams, resembling traditional Chinese architecture. The tomb chamber itself still has an Islamic-style domed ceiling. This unique fusion of Chinese and Islamic architectural styles is particularly distinctive.

The third part is the Id Kah Grand Mosque, which can accommodate 5,000 worshippers. It has a spacious flat roof decorated with painted floral designs, supported by 108 carved wooden pillars. The walls are inscribed with verses from the Quran in Arabic, adding to its solemn atmosphere.

Hami, Xinjiang

Huicheng Township: Located in the southern suburbs of Hami City, Huicheng Township is a suburban area with a current agricultural population of 4,633, of which 98% are ethnic minorities. The total labor force in the township is 3,009, including 629 surplus laborers, of which 42% are permanently surplus and 58% are seasonally surplus. Among the surplus laborers, 62% have education levels below junior high school. In recent years, the Party Committee and government of Huicheng Township have taken practical measures based on local conditions, strengthened training programs, enhanced publicity and guidance, and expanded employment channels in multiple ways.

I. Tailoring to local conditions and strengthening training. To improve the quality and self-... More details about Huicheng Township++