Stele pavilions
In three scripts.
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The tombs of the ancestors of Nurhaci, founder of the Manchu state that became the Qing dynasty: four generations of his forefathers lie here with two of his great-uncles and their wives, and it has been part of the World Heritage Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties since 2004. Begun in 1598 and later enlarged, it was named Yongling, the «eternal tomb», in 1659. First in rank of the three Shengjing tombs but the smallest, it shows Manchu building traits: a main red gate whose door is a wooden fence, a spirit way of some 800 metres with no stone statues, and four stele pavilions inscribed in Manchu, Mongolian and Chinese, followed by the Qiyun Gate with its walls carved in clouds and dragons and the sacrificial hall behind it among the trees. Tickets cost about CNY 50, half price for students, and ten minutes away lies Hetu Ala, the first Manchu capital, at about 60, per visitor guides.
In three scripts.
A Manchu touch.
At the Qiyun Gate.
Yongling town, Xinbin County, about 120 km east of central Fushun, Liaoning
Choices are few in the countryside, so bring food; Fushun city has restaurants run by Hui Muslims under the halal sign, while north-eastern cooking uses a lot of pork.