Shisanling, meaning "Thirteen Tombs," is an area in the Changping District of Beijing Municipality, China, about 42 kilometers (26 miles) north-northwest of Beijing's city center. It is named for the cluster of imperial mausoleums built there by the Ming dynasty.
The site lies on the southern slope of Tianshou Mountain and was chosen according to the principles of feng shui by the Yongle Emperor, the third Ming ruler. After the Imperial Palace was completed in 1420, he selected his own burial site and built his mausoleum there, and most of the emperors who followed placed their tombs in the same valley.
Shisanling is therefore the collective name for the majority of the Ming tombs, which form one of the principal imperial burial complexes near Beijing. The tomb of the first Ming emperor, the Hongwu Emperor, is not part of this group; it is located near Nanjing, the dynasty's earlier capital.