Nine Princes' Tombs of the Ming Dynasty

Nine Princes' Tombs of the Ming Dynasty

The Nine Princes' Tombs of the Ming Dynasty is a cultural tourism attraction.

Located at the foot of Mapu Mountain, five kilometers east of Datong City. The tomb complex is distributed as follows: starting from the northeast of Dongfen Village in the east, passing through the south of Yanzhuang Village and Xifen Village in the middle, and extending to the area of the Ancient City Brick and Tile Factory in the west, stretching 3.5 kilometers from east to west. Nine circular domed tombs are arranged along the arc of Mapu Mountain, each tomb standing over four meters high with a diameter of around nine meters. On March 28, 1966, it was announced as one of the first batch of municipal-level cultural heritage protection units.

According to the "Datong Prefecture Records": "The Ming Princes' Tombs include: the tomb of Prince Duan of Dai, Shuan; the tomb of Prince Li (Mourning Prince Li), Xun Duan; the tomb of Prince Yin, Shi X; the tomb of Prince Yi, Jun Zhang; the tomb of Prince Zhao, Yun Yao; the tomb of Prince Gong, Ting Qi; the tomb of Prince Ding, Ding Xuan, all located on Cailiang Mountain; and the tombs of Prince Hui, Cheng Lian, and Prince Si, Cong Mo, located on Mapu Mountain." According to relevant investigations, although the scale of the Nine Princes' Tomb Complex of the Ming Dynasty is not as grand as the Thirteen Ming Tombs in Changping County, it is still quite impressive. The offering halls all feature red walls and patterned tiles, and include stele pavilions, stele archways, and five-offering altars, all fully equipped. The tomb complex is surrounded by tall walls, and the government assigned a large number of civilian households to guard the tombs. Today’s Dongfen Village and Xifen Village were the residences of the tomb guards at that time, and every year during the Qingming Festival, they would conduct rituals and sweep the tombs.