Ming Tombs - Beijing

These photos were taken at the tomb of the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The first two emperors had their homes/tombs at different cities, but the third emperor was the first one who called Beijing his home. In this beautiful mountain setting, there are 13 different tombs for emperors of the Ming Dynasty. They have only opened one of the tombs (the 13th emperor). This is actually a funny story. They knew that opening the tomb would cause destruction of some of the artifacts so they decided to open the 13th emperor's tomb as a trial. Well, most of the textiles and silks were destroyed over time. Years later, during a cultural revolution in China, most of the remainder of the jewels, silks, etc. were burned or stolen. Because of this, China has not opened another tomb since. Some of the artifacts still remain.

This was a gold crown from the 13th tomb.

Hair pins and earrings

Leaving the tomb site, the men had to step over this threshold with their left foot first and women had to step over with our right foot. If you didn't do this you apparently are still living in the underworld.

Overall, I think I liked Chinese food more than Japanese food. The funny thing is, the most authentic Chinese food I can think of from back home, that compares to Beijing food, comes from Panda Express. Seriously.