Han Yang Ling Mausoleum

Tomb of Emperor Jing of Han (157–141 BCE). Pottery army figures (smaller than Qin's) excavated in situ; visitors walk on glass over the open pits.

Han Yang Ling is the mausoleum complex of Liu Qi, the Emperor Jing of Han, who ruled from 157 to 141 BCE. Located north of Xi'an near the Jing River, the site occupies roughly eleven square kilometres and includes the emperor's earthen tumulus pyramid, the tumulus of his empress Wang Zhi nearby, a funerary park, and an elaborate system of satellite burial pits radiating from the main tomb. Emperor Jing was the son of Emperor Wen and the father of Emperor Wu — a trio of rulers whose combined reigns constitute the consolidation of Han imperial power after the Qin collapse, and the period described by historians as one of the most stable and prosperous in early Chinese history.

The burial pits are what makes Yang Ling remarkable for visitors. Unlike the Qin Terracotta Army — life-size warriors intended as a military force for the afterlife — the Han burial objects are one-third life size and cover a much wider range of subjects: cavalry soldiers, infantry, female court figures, animals (pigs, sheep, cattle, dogs), and domestics. The miniaturisation and variety suggest a conception of the afterlife as a populated domestic and administrative world rather than a military encampment. Approximately 50,000 individual figurines have been identified across the pit system, most still in situ.

The underground museum built over the main excavation area is the site's architectural distinction: visitors walk along elevated glass-floored walkways suspended directly above the open pits, with excavated figurines visible below in their original positions. The effect is unusual — you are standing above an open archaeological site with the soil layers and artifacts undisturbed beneath your feet. The museum is considerably quieter than the Terracotta Army site and benefits from the contrast; the two are complementary rather than redundant.