Baoding, Hebei Province 31

Qing Tombs

Construction of the Western Qing tombs was initiated by Emperor Yongzheng who broke with tradition and refused to be buried in the Eastern Qing Tombs. Some have speculated; though not proven; as Yongzheng had illegally usurped the throne by eliminating his brothers and his motives to relocate his tomb to the Western Qing tombs was that he did not wish to be buried alongside his father the Kangxi Emperor. Later on his son, the Qianlong Emperor decided that he should be buried in the Eastern Qing tombs and have dictated that thereafter burials should alternate between the eastern and western sites, although this was not followed consistently.
The first tomb, the Tai Ling, was completed in 1737, 2 years after the Yongzheng reign. The last imperial interment was in 1998, when the ashes of Aisin Gioro Puyi, the last emperor, were moved to a commercial cemetery here.