CHINA MATTERS' FEATURE: WHAT DID WE FIND DEEP UNDERGROUND IN THE TOMBS OF MING EMPERORS?

What treasures lie within the Ming Dynasty Tombs? How has Changping preserved these relics for hundreds of years?

Royal tombs, like the Pyramids of Giza, can be found throughout the world. But the Ming Tombs stand out in particular, having been preserved extremely well and left unlooted, intact with nearly all of their treasures. Out of the 13 Ming Tombs, only one, Dingling Tomb, has actually ever been opened. These tombs have stayed successfully hidden and guarded for 400 to 600 years. Dingling tomb is buried deep within the earth, 27 meters underground, and it took archaeologists an entire year just to find the entrance.

In this video, American hosts Evy Pinero and Jack Klumpp venture into the tombs to see the ancient treasures and relics of royalty from long ago. Evy tries on Ming Dynasty hanfu and wears the golden, jewel-adorned "phoenix crown" found in the tomb of a Ming empress. Jack dives deep into Dingling Tomb's massive underground palace where he discovers the coffins of an emperor and jhis empresses and the boxes containing thousands upon thousands of treasures buried with them. Jack also realizes the patience and diligence necessary when carefully excavating artifacts during an archaeology simulation.

What do well-preserved ancient tombs look like in their original form? What insights about Ming culture are we getting from the thousands of relics left in these deep underground chambers?