Harvesting history in fields of stone

Ancient layout

The Song Mausoleums are a nationally protected cultural site. The elaborate stone sculptures reflect the prosperity of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), an era that saw major advances in movable-type printing, the compass and gunpowder, according to Zhu Xingli, director of Gongyi's cultural relics bureau.

"If we move the stone statues from the imperial mausoleums into a museum exhibition, we will lose their most important historical value," he said.

What makes these relics valuable is the complete ancient imperial tomb layout designed for royal funeral ceremonies, Zhu said. Stone pillars, stone lions, stone elephants and giant statues line the central axis, following a full ancient imperial funeral format.

"Our best protection is to let these stones stay rooted where they have stood for 1,000 years, rather than moving them away," Zhu said.

Song Mausoleums were purpose-built for open-air display, a distinction from the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan and the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi province, which had wooden roof shelters, he added.

To protect the relics, the local government follows the "minimum intervention" rule.

In order to prevent human damage and theft, the cultural relic authority has established 11 protection posts with 96 full-time guardians. The guardians take turns keeping watch 24 hours a day, supported by security cameras.

A major land regulation project placed 210.67 hectares of farmland at the center of the mausoleum zone. Farm machinery is required to stay at least two meters away from all stone statues, Zhu said, and agricultural workers must use manual tools rather than large farm vehicles near relics to avoid hitting them.

Thanks to these protection initiatives, visitors can enjoy the unique view all year round, such as when the monuments are surrounded by green wheat, sorghum and rapeseed flowers.

Since 2025, Gongyi has cooperated with Fudan University, Lanzhou University, Zhengzhou University and other academic institutions to conduct comprehensive 3D digital archiving and physical performance testing of the relics, Zhu said.

"High-precision scanning technology captures all subtle features of the stone carvings, including facial textures, garment folds, micro cracks and delicate carved ornaments," Zhu said.

Full digital modeling has been completed for Yongding Mausoleum, one of the Song Mausoleums, and some scattered stone statues. Permanent digital replicas are stored on cloud platforms, with the original stone monuments preserved in their original locations, Zhu said.

"Such digital tech will provide solid data support for precise restoration and historical research for future generations," he said.