Zhaojun Tomb 昭君墓

About Zhaojun Tomb

Its identification as her actual burial place is uncertain. The approach is lined with stone figures, inscriptions and museum buildings explaining the marriage-alliance tradition. Reading those displays before approaching the Green Mound makes the visit an exploration of historical memory, rather than an expectation of an excavated tomb interior.

The mound is also known as the Green Mound (青冢); according to local tradition, the surrounding grass yellows in autumn while the mound itself stays green. Its Mongolian name, Temür Urkhu (特木尔乌尔虎), means “iron wall”. More than ten other sites elsewhere are locally claimed as Zhaojun's tomb, but the Hohhot mound is considered the most prominent, since it has the earliest textual record and the most literary references, though its authenticity remains undetermined. The earliest mention of its location appears in the Tang-dynasty Tongdian (通典) by Du You.

The site has been renovated repeatedly since the 1960s and now includes the Zhaojun Museum. It was listed as an Inner Mongolia autonomous region protected cultural site in 1964 and, on 25 May 2006, as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level, in the sixth national batch.

The present mound is an artificial rammed-earth, truncated-pyramid form standing 33 meters high with a base area of about 13,000 square meters. Stone steps lead to a platform two-thirds of the way up the front, where two hexagonal pavilions stand, with paths continuing to a glazed-tile pavilion at the summit. Eight late-Qing and Republican-era stone steles flank the mound's front.

What to look for

• The Green Mound and the inscribed stones around its base.
• The stone-figure avenue and museum interpretation of Wang Zhaojun and marriage alliances.

The surrounding area

Autonomous-region capital and urban base for temple streets, museums and local breakfast traditions.

Location & getting there

Getting to Zhaojun Tomb

Use the Zhaojun Museum's south entrance beside the G209 road, south of the Dahei River in Yuquan District.

• Plan a separate road transfer from central Hohhot; follow the museum's current directions for the mound paths.