Fangshan Mound Tombs

Opening Hours: 8:00 – 18:00 Ticket Price: 15 RMB Contact Number: 0530-2201666 Address: 6 kilometers north of Dingtao District, Heze City Best Visiting Season: Suitable for all four seasons Complaint Hotline: 0530-5310803

It lies approximately 5 kilometers northwest of downtown Dingtao. Take Tourist Bus No.1 from the railway station to get there directly.

Fangshan Mound Tombs are situated about 5 kilometers northwest of Dingtao urban area, around 1.5 kilometers west of the Heze-Shangqiu Highway. If you ride to Dingtao Fertilizer Plant and look eastward, you will see a prominent green-covered mound rising abruptly like a mountain — this is Fangshan Mound Tombs.

The tomb complex consists of two mounds, the East Mound and the West Mound. The East Mound stands roughly 12 meters high, stretching 90 meters from east to west and 340 meters from north to south. A 50-meter-deep valley separates it from the West Mound, which is about 4 meters tall, 54 meters wide east-west and 140 meters long north-south. The two mounds cover a total area of around 38,000 square meters. Boasting imposing mounds and grand construction scale, this site ranks first among all ancient burial grounds in Heze. It was designated a Provincial Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit in 1977.

Fangshan Mound Tombs served as the burial ground for nobles of the State of Cao from the Western Zhou Dynasty through the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. As recorded in Records of Dingtao County: "Fangshan lies twelve li northwest of the county seat. Layered earthen mounds rise loftily here, the ancient burial site of the State of Cao. Piled earth forms high hills resembling mountains, where sacrificial rituals were held for twenty-five generations of rulers from Uncle Zhenduo of Cao down to Boyang." Cao Nan Literature Records, citing Universal Geography Records, also states: "Fangshan is the ancient burial ground of the State of Cao."

In the 11th century BC, King Wu of Zhou conquered King Zhou of Shang and founded the slave-owning Zhou Dynasty. To suppress rebellions of conquered clans and slave uprisings and consolidate his rule, he enfeoffed royal kinsmen, nobles and meritorious ministers across the land. "Uncle Zhenduo of Cao, the sixth son of King Wen of Zhou, was enfeoffed in Cao after King Wu vanquished Shang." Therefore, ancient Dingtao functioned as the political, economic, cultural and military heart of the State of Cao during the Western and Eastern Zhou dynasties. To display their wealth and royal authority, successive monarchs of Cao piled massive mounds over their tombs, gradually forming the lofty earthen hills known as Fangshan. Surviving stone steles on Fangshan further corroborate this historical account.

Fangshan also holds numerous Western and Eastern Han tombs. Though unrecorded in ancient texts, exposed vertical pit tombs, stone coffin tombs and brick-chambered tombs of the Han dynasties can be seen on the broken southern and eastern slopes of the East Mound, alongside unearthed cultural relics. Some tombs reach a depth of five to six meters from the entrance to the bottom, indicating large construction scales. Surveys show that nearly all ancient cultural sites and burial grounds in Heze contain Han Dynasty tombs, a practice possibly stemming from the folk superstition that burying beside mountains and rivers would bring blessings to descendants.

After centuries of vicissitudes, temples and commemorative steles were first erected atop the Fangshan mounds between the Ming and Qing dynasties, including the Jade Emperor Shrine, Hundred Gods Pavilion, Mountain Gate and Guan Di Temple. Historical documents describe the palaces and pavilions as "magnificent, with flying eaves and painted beams reaching toward the sky", decorated with vibrant hues of blue, yellow, crimson and vermilion that seemed otherworldly. In those days, dense pine and cypress trees blanketed the mounds, hiding pavilions and halls amid tranquil primitive scenery, attracting an endless stream of visitors. Stele Record of the Hundred Gods Shrine, Jade Emperor Pavilion and Other Temple Complexes, compiled in the 5th year of the Daoguang reign, depicts the former splendor: "Our Dingtao land stretches flat without lofty peaks. This high mound, with its undulating slopes and lush shade, draws scholars and literati to climb, gaze afar, drink wine and compose poems — Fangshan is truly a renowned scenic spot."

Later, wars and fires left the halls and pavilions neglected; many collapsed or were demolished, with very few structures remaining. All ancient pines and cypresses were cut down, and successive generations of stone steles suffered extensive damage. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the local government implemented strict protective measures, raised funds from multiple channels to restore and reconstruct the historical relics of Fangshan Mound Tombs. The Fangshan Temple Fair was revived in 1952. By 1999, the fair saw a sharp surge in visitors and trade goods, evolving into a large temple fair famous for hundreds of li around, drawing crowds from Henan, Anhui and neighboring counties and cities. At present, Fangshan Mound Tombs functions both as a major commodity distribution hub in Heze and one of its key tourist attractions.