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The Ming Tombs
Brief Sacred Road Memorial Arch Big Red Gate Tablet House Stone Animals & Statues Dingling Palace
Sacred Soad
This road was known as shendao, meaning "the way of the spirit." The body of the dead was carried over the route at funeral ceremony. It is 7 kilometres long, from the Memorial Arch to the gate of the main tomb.
Memorial Arch 
Built of white marble, was erected in 1540. It is 12 metres high and 31 metres wide, and has 5 arches supported by 6 pillars with beautiful bas-relief carvings of lions, dragons and lotus flowers. Double lintels link the six pillars. The roofing is made of round marble tiles, with upturned corners. "The way of the spirit" used to pass beneath the Memorial Arch.
Big Red Gate
The Big Red Gate was built in 1426. It used to have three huge wooden doors. The central opening was  used by the dead emperor alone, and living ministers and imperial family members had to use one of the side openings when they came
to pay homage to the deceased emperors.
Tablet House
About 500 yards (A yard is equal to 0.914 metre.) from the Big Red Gate stands the Tablet House built in 1435. A marble column, known as huabiao, stands at each corner of the Tablet House. A huge tablet, 7 metres high, stands in the middle of the house on the back of a tortoise. The front side bears an inscription by the fourth Ming emperor. On the reverse side is an inscription carved during Qing Emperor Qianlong's reign. It described the reconstruction of the Ming Tombs in 1785 and commented on the rules and styles of the Ming Tombs.
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