Xi’an, China
Xi’an Confronts an Unusual Challenge: a Surfeit of Ancient Tombs
China wants to
protect its historical relics from new urban development projects. But that’s
no simple task in Xi’an — a city where imperial tombs are seemingly everywhere.
In 2013, archaeologists
in the city of Xi’an made an incredible discovery while conducting surveys for
a new road-building project: a 1,300-year-old tomb belonging to one of the most
powerful female politicians in Chinese history, Shangguan Wan’er.
Shangguan had served as
the de facto prime minister to Wu Zetian, China’s sole female emperor. But
after Wu’s death, she was killed in a bloody coup, and her final resting place
had remained a mystery for centuries.
Despite decades of
research, archaeologists in Xi’an still haven’t located the tombs of several
emperors, let alone those of many other historical figures who lived in the
city.
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