Tomb of Concubine Yang
The Tomb of Concubine Yang is the burial place for Yang Yuhuan. Yang (known as Yang Guifei), the concubine of the Tang emperor Xuanzong, was a renowned beauty of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). She was of unmatched beauty and was good at singing and dancing. The story goes that when the Emperor took Yang to the garden, beautiful flowers would shy away from her as they felt inferior in comparison to her beauty. Originally, she was the younger wife of Prince Shou, the eighteenth son of Xuanzong. But Xuanzong decreed their divorce and entered her into a nunnery for a couple of years so that he could take her as his palace consort without shame. From then on, Xuanzong devoted his heart and soul to her as described in the poem "Of the three thousand beauties in the rear court, she wins his favor all alone. ".
Xuanzong was so infatuated with Yang that the administration of the government soon fell into decay, which was not made any better by the fact that Yang took advantage of her power to stuff high administrative positions with her corrupt cronies. She also took under her wing a general named An Lushan, who quickly accumulated power. A power struggle over control of the central government between An Lushan and Yang’s brother (Yang Guozong) led to An’s rebellion in 755. Xuanzong ran away and brought the concubine with him, However, towards the Maweipo, the army under the command of the Chen Xuanli, the general commander of the right army killed Yang Guozong and said to the emperor that the rebellion was directly incited by the Yang Family, and they forced Xuanzong to order Yang Guifei to hang herself. The concubine died a forced death at the age of 38 only.
The burial place for the concubine is a tomb-yard, the entrance of which is hung a placard inscribed with the “Tomb for concubine Yang of the Tang Dynasty.” Entering into the gate you’ll see a three-bay front hall, the hall for offering sacrifices built in imitation of classical architecture and the tomb is right behind it. Covering an area of 1 mu (equaling to 0.0667 hectares), the tomb is surrounded with laid bricks of gray stands three meters high. Embraced on three sides is a covered-up corridor, the wall of which is inserted with more than 30 stone-steles of various sizes and styles. They are all chants or lamentations left by celebrities of ensuring dynasties.
Until a few years ago, young Chinese girls would visit here on the third day of the third month in the lunar year, take some soil from around the tomb and mix it with flour. Popular belief holds that this "concubines powder" makes you beautiful if it is applied to the face. However, as the ground around the tomb began to disintegrate, the government put a stop to this romantic practice by building a blue wall around the tomb to protect this 1200-old historical relic.
How to Get There?
Tourists can take the one-day tourist bus at the square of the train station or the tourist bus to Xianyang at Yu Xiangmen Bus Station.
Opening Hours
Daily 08:00 AM - 18:00 PM
More Tips
You can stay at Xingping during the night. There is a business street on the right of the Xingping Bus Station. Two hotels are available here:
- Xinhua Hotel: 029-8821045 Double Room: 10 yuan per person， Single Room: 12-15 yuan (without a bathroom).
- Qianwen Hotel: On the second floor there is a bar in which instant coffee is served. The environment is not bad but there are fleas in the guestroom. You’d better demand that the waiter change new bedding for you.