A Look At China’s Puzzling Pyramids

China is a fascinating nation, home to one of the world’s most ancient cultures. In fact, it’s over 5,000 years old. Popular imagination ties China to concepts like Confucianism, chopsticks, and the yin and yang. Pyramids, though, are typically associated with the likes of Egypt. People often overlook the fact that China has its very own pyramids, dating back thousands of years. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at these unique gems of Chinese history and architecture. 

Buried Monuments

The oldest pyramid structures unearthed in China date back to the Neolithic, some 6,000 years ago. However, the height of Chinese pyramid-building came millennia later, during the imperial era. Most of these structures are actually massive burial mounds for the great Chinese emperors of various dynasties. Many early accounts reported these pyramids as tremendous in size, surpassing even the Egyptians.

The truth is, though, all pyramids found so far are considerably shorter than their Egyptian counterparts. That said, these structures are in very remote regions, and many remain mostly unexplored. Archeologists consider them extremely valuable sites for future excavation. It’s possible that some of these burial mounds go far deeper than what we see on the surface today. Experts are still studying many of them today.

Imperial Mausoleums

One thing that Egyptian and Chinese pyramids do have in common is their function. As far as scientists have been able to determine, these iconic structures were both used as mausoleums for great rulers. There’s the Han Yang Ling, the mausoleum of Emperor Jing, and Empress Wang of the Western Han dynasty. It’s packed with over 50,000 terracotta figures in burial pits, representing the emperor’s life.

Shaohao’s Mausoleum lies in Shandong. It houses the remains of Shaohao, one of the semi-legendary Five Emperors. Its central pyramid, the Shou Qiu, marks the birthplace of Shaohao’s father (and China’s mythical fist ruler), the Yellow Emperor. Many Chinese dynasties produced these monuments, from the Western Han to the Tang. Qianling Mausoleum, in Shaanxi, houses multiple generations of the Tang dynasty’s House of Li.

Unique Elements

These pyramidal structures remind visitors of similar Egyptian and Mesoamerican buildings. They’re quite peculiar, though. Several elements make Chinese pyramids unique among all such constructions the world over. Most of these complexes incorporated central burial mounds surrounded by burial pits. Right before the tomb, a characteristic gate protected the entrance. An inner traditional Chinese courtyard greeted visitors. Large steles carved into enormous vertical slates often tell stories.

A lot of mysteries surround Chinese pyramids, and much remains to be discovered. Archeologists continue to excavate these historical treasures today. We’ll learn more and more about these fascinating cultures in time.