Tomb of Prince Yide

Tomb of Prince Yide, Xi'an 

Overview
Li Chongrun was an imperial prince of the Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty. He was the only son of Emperor Zhongzong (Li Zhe/Li Xian) and Emperor Zhongzong's second wife Empress Wei. 

In 701, he offended his grandmother Wu Zetian by discussing Wu Zetian's lovers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong with his sister Li Xianhui the Lady Yongtai and her husband Wu Yanji the Prince of Wei, and he, along with Li Xianhui and Wu Yanji, were forced to commit suicide. He was posthumously honored as crown prince after his father Emperor Zhongzong was restored to the throne in 705 and in 706, Emperor Zhongzong provided Li Chongrun with an honorable burial by interring his remains at the Qianling Mausoleum.

Architecture & Structure
In the graveyard there are still incomplete bounding wall and the tomb, to the south of which are two earthen watchtowers, with stone lions, stone human statues and ornamental columns in pairs in front of them. The underground construction of the tomb consists of the tomb path, 6 passage holes, 7 dooryards, 8 closets, the front and the rear corridors and the front and rear coffin chambers. The graveyard is altogether 100 meters long. The corridor and the coffin chamber are built of bricks. A stone coffin is in the rear chamber, and is carved with refined woman images.

Constructruction
The frescos are painted in the tomb all over, and the picture of the prince's honor guard with chains of mountains as the background is painted in the east and west sides of the wall beside the tomb path. In the picture, the buildings constructed at the foot of the mountains are splendid in green and golden colors. 

In the picture, the buildings constructed at the foot of the mountains are splendid in green and golden colors. The grand rampart is besides the building. A honor guard consisted of 196 people is below the rampart, and falls into three parts -- infantry, cavalry and wagons, holding many banners and flags. All these show the brilliant status of Prince Yide. The passage holes are painted with patterns of tamed leopards, eagles, snipes and maids-in-waiting. On the dooryards there are pictures describing excursions in carriages. The picture of astronomical phenomena is painted in the roof of the rear chamber. 

In total there are 40 frescos. Although the grave had been robbed in early years, there are still 1,000 pieces of unearthed funeral objects, including pottery tomb figures, tri-colored tomb figures, wooden tomb figures, gold-plated trappings and so on. They are arranged according to the bands and honor guards. Furthermore, 11 pieces of marble mourning brochures were discovered, with intaglio inscriptions in regular script. They are the earliest and relatively costly mourning brochures extant.

Transportation

How to get to The Tomb of Prince Yide
Bus Route:
From Xian Railway Station to Qianxian
1. Take local Bus 1 to Qianling; or take a long distance bus from Xian West Bus Station to Qian County. After arrival, local bus 2 will take you to Qianling Mausoleum. It takes 30 minutes to walk south from Qianling Mausoleum to the Tomb of Prince Yide; or you can take the sightseeing bus with a cost of CNY 30 per person.
2. Take Tourist No.3 and you can arrive at the tomb of prince Yide directly.

Information

Admission Fee: CNY 30---Peak Season
                       CNY 15---Low Season
Opening Time: 8:00-18:00
Time for Visit: 2 Hours
Location: Qianling, Shaanxi