Click on the video above
The Imperial Mausoleum of the Northern Song Dynasty is located in the west and south of Gongyi city. It is the resting place of the Northern Song emperors and royal familymembers. It is one of the most complete and abundant ancient tomb groups with stone carvings in China. Seven ofthe nine emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty were buried here. These tombs,along with the tomb of the father of the Song founding emperor Zhao Kuangyin, are commonlyknown as the "Seven Emperors and Eight Tombs". In 1982,it was listed among the second batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
In 1063, Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty died andwas buried here. Located in the western part of the urbanarea of Gongyi city, the tomb houses 60 surviving stonecarvings. Also buried here is Empress Cao. Her mausoleumextends 1,050 meters from north to south and 300 meters from east to west. Yongzhao Mausoleum is the only restored imperial group tombs in the Song Dynasty, hence with unique historical value. (Video: Zhao Hanqing & Yang Jiaxin)
