Twin passages
Cut with precision.
Yumeto — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cangminzho — CC BY-SA 4.0 · WeelStone — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cangminzho — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yumeto — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cangminzho — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cangminzho — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cangminzho — CC BY-SA 4.0
A tomb cut into the heart of a rocky hill for Liu Zhu, the sixth King of Chu under the Western Han dynasty, and his wife; it was found by chance in February 1981 during quarrying, and in 1985 a silver seal found inside identified its owner. Visitors enter through two parallel passages, each about 56 metres long, a metre wide and 1.77 metres high, cut into the rock with striking precision, their walls polished and drainage channels carved along their sides; they lead to fifteen rooms, among them bedrooms, a kitchen, a well, a stable and a toilet, over more than 700 square metres, like a complete palace underground. The tomb was looted in antiquity, so little was left inside, and a museum has stood on the site since 1993. Tickets cost CNY 80, half price for students, and it is open from 8.30 am to 5 pm, per visitor guides.
Cut with precision.
Inside the rock.
In the stable room.
West slope of Guishan (Turtle Hill), Gulou District, north-west Xuzhou
Yes, both are in Xuzhou a short drive apart; the tomb takes an hour or two, leaving the afternoon for the lake shores.