After 400 years, large princess tomb opens to public

The Princess Zhao Tomb, one important component of the Luwang Tomb, which is the only project in Henan currently applying for UNESCO cultural heritage recognition, will open to the public during the National Day holidays after remaining closed for more than 400 years.

Luwang Tomb, with a total area of more than 66 acres, is one of the national cultural relic protection projects in Xinxiang City, Henan Province. The structure of the tomb is nearly the same as the Ming Tombs in Beijing, which are famous for their splendid and exquisite stone carvings. They both have great importance in studying the structure of the military governors' tombs and the architecture art in the late Ming Dynasty.

The Princess Zhao Tomb, which also belongs to the national cultural relics, has already been listed in the World Cultural Heritage prepared list. The total area of the Princess Tomb is about 35,000 square meters. After New China was established in 1949, it failed to open to the public because the place was used as a temporary detention point for Yubei Prison.

After the Xinxiang government invested about 100 million yuan and moved the prison to a new place in 2005, it was possible for the Princess Zhao Tomb to be reopened again finally.

By Wang Qianyuanxue, People's Daily Online