By Pan Yan

Maoling tomb in Changping District, Beijing.

A full-scale renovation of Maoling tomb is scheduled to begin on July 17, following preparations for construction of the subterranean artifact storehouse at Dingling tomb, which has already begun earlier this month.

Maoling tomb, one of Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty, inhumes the eighth Emperor Xianzong and his three empresses. Maoling has now fallen into ill repair, having been many years since its last overhaul.

12 million yuan will be invested in the complete renovation, including a survey and restoration of all archaeological sites within the Maoling tomb compound. The guiding principle of the restoration project is the original appearance of the sites should be maintained as much as possible.

“The restoration of Maoling tomb will respect history, making no changes to any buildings unless deemed structurally unsound. We hope that after the restoration, we can preserve the original appearance of these sites, ” said Zhang Yong, the director of the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty Administrative Bureau.

Minglou and Baocheng, two sites within Maoling tomb, are in the most need of repair and will undergo a complete renovation. Workers carefully photographed the sites’ current condition, ensuring historical accuracy of renovations made during the project.

Concurrently, the first-phase preparation work for the subterranean artifact storehouse at Dingling tomb, also one of Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty built for the Emperor Wanli and his empresses, has already begun. The storehouse, with two floors underground, one floor above and covering a total area of 2,400 square meters, is expected to be finished next year. After completion, the storehouse will archive over 4,000 cultural relics unearthed from the Dingling tomb.