What type of attraction is the Balingshan Ancient Tombs Group?
The Balingshan Ancient Tombs Group is a famous scenic spot in Jingzhou’s cultural landscape.
Baling Mountain is located 20 kilometers northwest of Jingzhou City. Baling Mountain is named after the undulating eight roads of Chongling. It is also called Longshan because the eight ridges are winding like a swimming dragon.
Baling Mountain, also known as Longshan. The scenery here is beautiful, with lush forests and eight ridges, winding like a dragon. Therefore, it was regarded as a geomantic treasure by the ancients. The ancient tombs in the mountains are densely packed, and it has been found that there are 498 large sealed mound ancient tombs and countless unsealed mound ancient tombs, among which the majority are Chu tombs. According to historical records, 18 Chu kings of the Chu State, five emperors of the Five Dynasties of Nanping State, and 11 vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty were all buried in the mountains. In 1988, the Balingshan Ancient Tombs were listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit. In April 1992, the Ministry of Forestry approved Baling Mountain as a national forest park.
The Balingshan Ancient Tombs are 8 kilometers long from north to south and 5 kilometers wide from east to west, with a total area of more than 40 square kilometers. There are densely packed ancient tombs in the mountains, and there are more than 560 extra-large, large and medium-sized ancient tombs in the sealed mounds. Most of them are Chu tombs, followed by the tombs of Ming vassal kings. Many tombs stand majestically on the top of the mountain, like peaks, forming the spectacular scenery of Baling Mountain. According to historical records, the tomb of King Chuzhuang is in the mountain, and there are dozens of tombs in front and behind, all lined up. The tombs of the Ming Dynasty and Liao Jian kings, as well as many kings such as Su, Jing, Hui, Gong, and Zhuang, are all located in the north of the mountain. There are scenic spots such as the flat-headed tomb, hat-changing platform, hat-dropping platform, and Mapao Spring on the mountain. Baling Mountain is now a National Forest Park. It has towering trees, sea of tea, pines, and clouds of smoke. It is both majestic and deep, so there is a saying that "if you don't reach Baling Mountain, you don't have to go to Jingzhou."
Baling Mountain is located between the three ancient cities of Jingzhou City, Jinan City and Wancheng. Its cultural landscape is extremely rich. Every large ancient tomb has a magical story, and every scenic spot has a touching story. legend. According to historical records: King Chuzhuang was buried in Gulong Mountain. Ten tombs were buried before and after them, all in a procession. This tomb is as tall as a mountain, and it has an extraordinary momentum as it accompanies the line of tombs. The Pingtou Tomb located in the middle of the Baling Mountains is also the largest mound of ancient tombs in the Baling Mountains. According to legend, after the famous Shu general Guan Yu got the Qinglong Yanyue sword, he was so happy that he jumped on his horse and brandished the sword. When the horse galloped past this tomb, Guan Yu When the tomb was raised, the upper part of the tomb was cut flat with a knife, and the tomb became flat-topped, hence the name of the flat-headed tomb. Similar to this, related to Guan Yu's life and achievements, there are ancient tombs such as Xima Zhong and Luomao Zhong.
In 1987, cultural relics and archaeologists excavated and cleaned the tomb of the Ming and Liao kings located at the southern foot of Baling Mountain. The King of Liao was Zhu Zhi, the fourteenth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He was given the title of King of Liao because he was the first to enfeoff Liaodong. In 1404 AD, it was renamed Jingzhou. After his death in 1425 AD, he was buried in Baling Mountain. The tomb area covers an area of more than 60 acres. The tomb is a masonry structure and is in the shape of a king. There are 5 rooms in total. The total area of the tomb chamber is 102 square meters. The five chambers all have vaulted roofs. The wall skirts are made of polished bricks with joints, and the craftsmanship is exquisite. The indoor floor is paved with ceramic square tiles. There is a large stone door in the front room with nine rows and nine rows of stone door nails. There are two wooden doors between the front room and the middle room, and between the middle room and the back room. The tomb passage is 17 meters long, and there is an epitaph in front of the tomb chamber. The scale and layout of the tomb of King Liao can be regarded as an exquisite underground palace.
Although the tomb was robbed many times in history, more than 100 precious cultural relics were still unearthed. In 1988, the tomb of King Liao was opened to tourists. Today's Tomb of the King of Liao scenic area is lined with trees, simple and solemn, and complements the original style of Balingshan Forest Park. It has become a new tourist attraction for Chinese and foreign tourists.