In Zunhua County, Hebei Province, some 125 kilometres east of Beijing, lies a group of imperial tombs of the Qing Dynasty. It is known as the Eastern Tombs because there is another group, the Western Tombs, located in Yixian County, southwest of Beijing. It is the largest and most complete group of imperial tombs in China, covering an area of 48 square kilometres. It includes 15 tombs for five Qing emperors, their empresses and concubines. 

The Eastern Qing Tombs were first built in 1663, following the model of the Ming Tombs. The tombs for the Emperors and empresses are decorated with yellow glazed-tiles. The tomb area is screened by mountains to its north and set off by evergreen pines and cypresses. It is said that the first Qing Emperor, Shunzhi, chose the site on a hunting trip. 

The Emperors who were buried here are Shunzhi (in Xiaoling), Kangxi (Jingling), Qianlong (Yuling), Xianfeng (Dingling) and Tongzhi (Huiling). Altogether 5 emperors, 14 empresses and 136 imperial concubines were buried here, including the notorious Empress Dowager Cixi. 

It was listed for state-level preservation in 1961 and was listed by UNESCO as a World Culture Heritage Site in 2000, together with the Western Qing Tombs.