Qixing Luwang Palace

Who would have thought that there is a tourist attraction in Jining, Shandong where you can enter a tomb? The location is at the Ming Luwang Tomb in Shangzhai Village, Zhongdian Town, Zoucheng City, Jining, Shandong Province. The Ming Luwang Tomb is the tomb of Zhu Tan, the tenth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Due to its large scale and rich burial objects, it is known as the 'Number One Prince's Tomb of the Ming Dynasty'. A total of over 1,300 cultural relics were unearthed from the tomb, mainly including painted wooden figurines, treasures of the Luwang, funerary furniture, musical instruments, chess, calligraphy and painting, jewelry and jade, crowns and costumes, etc. Among them, the 'Nine-Tasseled Crown' was unearthed, which is the only surviving ancient crown (now in the Shandong Museum). The craftsmanship of the gemstone-studded gold belt buckle is extremely exquisite, inlaid with 33 rubies, sapphires, amethysts, turquoises, and cat's eye stones, resembling a blooming flower. The Ming Luwang Tomb Garden is located at the 'dragon head' position on the southern foothills of Jiulong Mountain. It is built against the mountain, with stone excavation and brick construction inside the tomb. The project was massive. Rough estimates suggest that about 24,800 cubic meters of earth and stone were excavated for the construction of the tomb, and about 150,800 cubic meters of soil were used for the tomb mound, totaling about 180,000 cubic meters of earth and stone used. The burial is oriented from north to south, consistent with the direction of the tomb garden at 186 degrees. The entire plan is shaped like the character '甲', consisting of the tomb mound, tomb path, Diamond Wall, and tomb chambers, which are divided into front and back chambers. The tomb is well-preserved. Except for the tomb mound and a small part of the tomb path that have been damaged, other parts have not been disturbed by human activity.