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The Sacred way

The Emperors of Ming Dynasty use this divine road to get to the Ming Tombs, This Divine Road - leading to heaven - is guarded on both sides by 36 huge stone sculptures of human and animals. Every year, the emperor enters the tomb zone to hold a memorial ceremony for the ancestors. When he dies, he is also carried through the Sacred Way to his tomb - guarded on both sides by 36 stone sculptures, 24 stone animals and 12 human figures. The stone sculptures are huge; some exceeds 30 cubic meters in volume. In the ancient times, without modern machinery, these heavy sculptures were transported here all entirely by manpower.

Tips

The Sacred Road and the Ming Tombs are near "Badaling" and "Ju Yong Guan" sections of the Great Wall. If time is limited, plan and see them together in a full day excursion instead of separating to visit on different days.