yongling

Yongling, the Yongling Mausoleum, is the tomb of Wang Jian, founder and ruler of the Former Shu kingdom during China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-960). It sits on the western edge of Chengdu in Sichuan and is the only Chinese imperial tomb whose underground chamber is open to visitors. The site was discovered in 1942 and excavated in 1943, with the burial chamber and its reliefs being the chief attraction. Twenty-four female musicians are carved into the stone pedestals supporting the sarcophagus, each playing a different instrument, making Yongling the most important source on late Tang and Ten Kingdoms court music. A statue of Wang Jian in the antechamber is the only contemporary sculpture of a Chinese emperor to survive. The grounds now function as a museum and park, a quiet counterpoint to busy central Chengdu.