The spirit way
Between rows of statues.
Bairuilong — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China — CC0 · Bairuilong — CC BY-SA 4.0 · 猫猫的日记本 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · 猫猫的日记本 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China — CC0 · 猫猫的日记本 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. — CC BY-SA 4.0
An imperial tomb of the Tang dynasty on a mountain in Qian County, some 85 kilometres north-west of Xi'an, built from 684 for Emperor Gaozong; in 706 his wife Wu Zetian was laid beside him, the only woman to rule China in her own name, from 690 to 705. Visitors climb to the tomb along a long «spirit way» lined with Tang stone statues: horses, winged horses, horses with grooms, lions, ostriches, officials and foreign envoys, passing between two southern hills topped with ruined towers that form the gateway, up to the northern peak beneath which lies the main tomb. Seventeen attendant tombs of family members and great officials surround it, five of them excavated, and in 2012 it was decided that no further digging would take place for at least fifty years. From the top of the way the wide plains spread out around the mountain, with the long straight avenue running between its rows of statues. Tickets cost CNY 100 from March to November and 80 in winter, and it is open from 8 am to 6 pm with last entry at 5 pm, per visitor guides.
Between rows of statues.
In Tang stone.
Over the plains.
Qian County, north-west of Xianyang, about 85 km from Xi'an, Shaanxi
Yes, the mausoleum is about an hour and a half by car from Xi'an, and it pairs well with the Shaanxi History Museum or the Terracotta Army over two days.
Choices are few at the site, but nearby Xi'an has its Muslim Quarter full of halal restaurants, so plan your meal there.