Tomb Raiders and the Sacred Way, 2013/03/13

Photos from our day out in Changping, where we hiked around the hills and finished up with a stroll down the Sacred Way.

We headed out to Changping District to do our Tomb Raiders hike, a trail in the hills behind the Ming Tombs in Changping. After the hike, we made a visit to the Sacred Way, the official entrance to the tombs.

The hike started at a village named Dongshuiyu. We followed the village road out to the back of the village, and then on and up through valleys and hills on trails that were fairly bushy.

When we made it up to the ridgeline we were treated to excellent views of the surrounding mountains and valleys, and we could spot the roofs of several of the Ming Tombs further out on the plain.

We finished the hike at the Tomb Caretakers village, where we had a big meal at a farmer's house before heading on to the Sacred Way.

The Sacred Way is one of the major Ming Tombs landmarks, with the Big Red Gate marking the official entrance to the tombs area. We walked through the gate and followed the straight road through lines of trees flanked by statues of animals and officials.