The Zhaojun Tomb (Chinese: 昭君墓; pinyin: Zhāojūnmù), located by the Da Hi River nine kilometers south of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, the People's Republic of China, is said to be the resting place of Wang Zhaojun, a commoner woman from the Chinese Han Empire who married a Xiongnu Chanyu. The cemetery is 13,000 m², with a 33 metre mound containing Zhaojun's coffin, making it a landmark of the region. The tomb is only honorary. Wang Zhaojun is not actually buried here. It is only a memorial. Her true grave and cause of death is unknown. Still the "tomb" is visited by thousands of Chinese tourists each year. It is noted for its attractive scenery.
The first Chinese mention of the cemetery in written record is in the Tang Dynasty, by Du You (杜佑) in A Comprehensive Guide (通典 Tong Dian).
It is called by the local Mongols Temür Urkhu (?) (特木爾烏爾虎), meaning "Iron Wall". The nickname "Green Mound" (青塚 Qīn Zhǒng) refers to a legend that in autumn, when grass and trees wither, those plants on the cemetery mound continue to prosper.
Famous quotes containing the word tomb:
“Some sepulcher, remote, alone,
Against whose portal she hath thrown,
In childhood, many an idle stone—
Some tomb from out whose sounding door
She ne’er shall force an echo more,
Thrilling to think, poor child of sin!
It was the dead who groaned within.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)