The Chinese emperors believed themselves to be the Sons of Heaven, who had come to Earth via the Sacred Way, by which they would also return to Heaven when they died. Thus a Sacred Way is an integral part of most imperial tombs.

The Sacred Way that leads to the Ming Tombs just outside of Beijing is typical of these types of structures, and very well preserved. It’s 3.5 km long and lined on both sides with 18 pairs of marble statues, 24 animals and 12 people, to guard it. Each of these statues is over five centuries old and carved from a single piece of marble. The animals are the lion, camel, elephant, xiezhi (a unicorn), qilin (one of the four “divine animals”), and horse. There are four statues of each of these animals, two standing and two squatting – in other words two resting and two guarding. Each of the animals has its own symbolic meaning: lions for solemnity, camels and elephants for the vastness of the country, xiezhi to keep evil spirits away, qilin for auspiciousness, and a horse to be the emperor’s mount. After the animal statues, the path is lined with human statues: two generals, two civil servants and two retired officials. The way is also lined with ‘Wang Zhu’, a series of hexagonal columns topped with either cloud shapes or cylinders.

After you pass all the statues, you arrive at the Dragon and Phoenix Gates. The Sacred Way continues through the gates all the way up to the tombs.

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