Gone, but far from forgotten

Su Feng of the Yellow Emperor Cultural Studies Society with China's oldest cypress tree in Huangling. [Photo by Huo Yan/China Daily]

The location of the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor－on the eastern slope of Qiao Mountain in Huangling county, Shaanxi province, and facing the Jyu River－is thought to be auspicious in terms of feng shui.

The structure covers an area of more than 300 hectares and consists of two parts: Xuanyuan Temple and the emperor's tomb.

Gongsun Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor, was a legendary tribal chief who lived in North China about 5,000 years ago. He is seen as one of the Chinese people's most important ancestors, along with the Yan Emperor and Chi You.

He was given the name Yellow Emperor as it represents the color of the vast Loess Plateau, where he was born.

In the history books, he is credited with conquering all other tribes to unify China and is remembered as a capable, smart and moral ruler.

He is referred to as one of the forefathers of Chinese civilization and was the first to standardize agricultural methods, music, mathematics, Chinese characters, clothing, water conservancy, construction, transportation, tool-making, house-building and military institutions.

According to legend, the Yellow Emperor became immortal and took a dragon to heaven, leaving his clothes to be buried in his tomb. The site has been renovated and expanded many times, and today stands about 4 meters tall and has a circumference of 50 meters.

Almost every ruler of China over the past 5,000 years has offered a tribute of some form at his tomb. The mausoleum has more than 100 stone steles, some carved with words of respect, others with dates of various renovation projects, and about 80,000 cypress trees, including 30,000 that are over 1,000 years old, forming China's largest ancient cypress forest.

The Yellow Emperor is said to have planted its oldest cypress tree, which botanists say is about 5,000 years old. It still has luxuriant foliage, and it takes eight adults to encircle the trunk holding hands.

Last year, China sent more than 7,000 seeds from this tree into space as part of the Shenzhou XI mission. Astronauts experimented using the seeds on the Tiangong II space laboratory for two months. Some of the seeds will now be planted in spots throughout Shaanxi, according to Su Feng, secretary-general of the Yellow Emperor Cultural Studies Society in Huangling.

The mausoleum is listed as a top-level tourist attraction and a State-protected historical site. An annual memorial for the Yellow Emperor is held at the site on Tomb Sweeping Day and is regarded as an important event for Chinese living around the world.