The Han Dynasty Tombs

Han Tombs = Hàn Mù = 汉墓 Say "hahn moo"

In the southwest corner of Gaoyou District, outside the town of Tianshan (天山) lies the Ming Dynasty Tombs Archeological site. This is a quarry where two tombs from the mid-Western Han Dynasty  were unearthed in very good condition. The tombs belong to Liu Xu, known as the Prince Li of Guangling, and his wife. Liu Xu was the ninth son of the Emperor Wu, the seventh Emperor of the Han Dynasty. He was assigned to rule the Yangzhou region.

The Prince’s tomb is now displayed at the Han Tomb Museum in north Yangzhou. It was recovered in such good condition, and its importance so significant, that a replica of the tomb is on display at the Beijing Dabaotai Museum of the Western Han Mausoleum in Beijing. It is believed that at least one other tomb remains buried in the hillside.

The tombs used a specific method of construction known as "System of the Sons of the Heaven". It is the highest level funeral specific system used by the emperors of the Western Han Dynasty. These methods were also known as Xin Palace, Bian House and Huangchangticou.

Liu Xu’s tomb alone occupies 230 square meters (2,476 Sq. ft). The burial chamber was built from precious Cypress and Nanmu wood without using a single nail. It is 23.2 meters long, 18 meters wide and 4.7 meters in depth. There are more than one thousand unearthed cultural relics, including cooper ware, iron ware, jade ware, agate utensils, golden leaf, pottery and textiles, along with 3 chariots and 11 horses. The full size chariots have scarlet-spotted wheels with blue covers made especially for princes and kings. As the only well-conserved large mausoleum site of the Western Han Dynasty in China, the Han Tombs are of great significance to the study of Chinese culture and history.

The Wukong Buddhist Temple also resides at the Ming Tombs site XE "Wukong Buddhist Temple" . Although the volcanic hill the Temple is located on is small, it’s the highest point for miles around. The current temple is about 3 years old but stands at the same location as a previous temple that stood here for hundreds of years.

Notes

The Western Han Dynasty lasted from 206 B.C-A.D. 24

Liu Xu (劉胥) B. 117 BC, D. 53 BC

Guǎnglíng 廣陵was the early name used for the city of Yángzhōu 杨州

Emperor Wu . of Han (漢武帝, 156 BC–March 29, 87 BC), personal name Liu Che (劉徹), was the seventh emperor of the Han Dynasty in China, ruling from 141 BC to 87 BC.

Nanmu 楠