Princess Yongtai was the
granddaughter of Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) and Empress Wu Zetian, the seventh
daughter of Emperor Zhongzong (Li Xian). She died in the 1st year
(701) of the Dazu reign at the age of 17. In 706, she was buried with the
emperor's son-in-law Duwei (captain) Wu Yanjin, the nephew of Wu Zetian, at the
side of the Qianling Mausoleum.
The tomb is surrounded by walls. The wall is
275m from the north to the south, and 220m from the east to the west. There
stand a couple of stone lions, a couple of ornamental columns and two couples of
stone human statues outside the southern wall. The hillock is in the center of
the mausoleum, and is 14 meters high with each side measuring 56 meters. The
coffin chamber below the hillock consists of the slope-type tomb path, south
path, the front and the back coffin chambers, and is 87.5 meters long, 3.9
meters wide, and 16.7 meters deep.
On the
west of the rear room stands a kistvaen carved with images of maids-in-waiting
images. The coffin chamber had been robbed in the early years, but there are
still more than 1,300 pieces of valuable unearthed cultural relics, such as gold
utensils, silver utensils, tri-color glazed pottery tomb figures, china and
copper wares. The frescos are painted in the coffin chamber. The east and west
sides of the tomb path are painted with black dragon, white tiger and honor
guard; the east and west walls of the front room are painted with images of
maids-in-waiting; the roof of the rear house is painted with the astronomical
phenomena. The ladies in the frescos are plump and graceful. They are high-level
works among the discovered frescos in the tombs of the Tang Dynasty.