The Ming Tombs lie about 50 km northwest of Beijing, tucked between a small plain and a small group of hills. Thirteen emperors of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) were buried there.

Just one of these tombs, the mausoleum of Emperor Wanli and his two queens -- known as Ding Ling, no snickering please -- has been excavated and opened to tourists. It's an impressive cavernous space, but photos inside are taboo, so you won't see any here. More than 3,000 historical finds were yanked from the tomb and placed in mini-museums scattered around the grounds. Once again, picture-taking was off-limits, so here you'll see only a few photos taken around those (lovely) grounds.