Dingdong Mausoleum

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Located to the east of Dingling, Emperor Xianfeng’s mausoleum, in Dingdong Mausoleum Dowager Empress Ci’ an and Dowager Empress Cixi are buried. The mausoleum was started in 1873 and completed in 1879, and each graveyard has a construction area of 2,265 square meters.

Dowager Empress Ci’ an and Cixi are popularly known as Eastern Dowager Empress and Western Dowager Empress.

Why is then that the Eastern Dowager Empress was buried on the west while the Western Dowager Empress buried on the east?

According to a folktale Cixi believed the mausoleum on the east was better than hers on the geomantic omen and the construction quality and plotted to take that one. In a chess game she forced honest and tolerant Ci’ an to exchange the mausoleum with her.

In fact, the titles of Eastern Dowager Empress and Western Dowager Empress were given based on their place of residence before their death. Ci’ an lived in Zhongcui Palace of the Eastern Six Palaces and Cixi lived in Changchun Palace of the Western Six Palaces. The title had nothing to do with the location of their mausoleums.

In 1895, Dowager Empress Cixi ordered her graveyard rebuilt and requested “no compromise on the raw materials”. Her crony Ronglu and other followers paid no attention to the poverty of the country and the people and invested heavily on the reconstruction. The reconstruction lasted for 13 years and was completed several days before the death of Cixi. The three halls of the rebuilt mausoleum feature select materials, exquisite crafts manship and luxury decoration. All the wood structures are made of rose wood, painted with golden powder with patterns of golden dragons. The inner walls are decorated with brick carving “Happiness, Longevity and Endless Happiness”. The 64 pillars are all decorated lively gilt bronze dragons; and the stone rails of the hall are decorated with dragon and phoenix relief while the steps in front of the hall are decorated with Phoenix and Dragon relief and openwork. All these are exceptional in the Eastern Tombs of the Qing Dynasty.