The Qianling Mausoleum is located in the Beiliang Mountain of the Qian County in Shaanxi Province.

The Qianling Mausoleum is the joint tomb of Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) and Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The mausoleum was built in line with the landform of the mountain 1,047 meters above sea level. From 1958 to 1960, the Cultural Relics Management Committee in Shaanxi Province made an archaeological research into the tomb.

The mausoleum is divided into the inner city and outer city; the tomb is located in the mountainside of Liangshan Mountain in the center of the inner city. In the south of the mausoleum, there are three gates. The border of the inner city is square with 1,450 meters in length. The wall of the city is built of earth. In front of each gate there are three watchtowers: one big and two small. Large-scale carved stone groups stand in the mausoleum between the second and the third gate. There are ornamental columns, winged beasts, ostriches, saddled horses led by grooms, unlettered monument, holy merit recording monument and 61 human statues, totaling more than 100 pieces.

The Qianling Mausoleum consists of the tomb path and the coffin chamber. The slope tomb path is 63m in length, 3.9m in width, and 19.5m in depth. They are all built of flagstones. There are 39 steps from the entrance of the tomb path to the tomb door. The flagstone in each step, 0.5m in thickness, is embed and reinforced by iron chains filled with white iron, and is really solid. The earthen step is upon the flagstone step. This kind of construction matches with the recordation in the New Tang Book, saying The Qianling Mausoleum has watchtowers and stone gates, with all gaps reinforced by metal. Historical records also describe the abundance of the funerary objects in the tomb. 

In the southeast of the Qianling Mausoleum there is a group of satellite tombs scattering around. It has a wide coverage with the circumference of about 40 km. They are all the tombs of the royal relatives and the important ministers in the court. According to the recordation of General History of Shaanxi Province, these tombs include the tombs of Prince Zhanghuai, Prince Yide, King Ze (Shangjin), King Xu (Sujie), King Fen (Shouli), Princess Yiyang, Princess Xindu, Princess Yongtai, Princess Anxing, King Tejin (Jishan), Li Jinxing, Liu Shenli, Xue Yuanchao, Di Renjie and so on. From 1960 to 1972, the Cultural Relics Management Committee of Shaanxi Province excavated five tombs, including the tombs of Princess Yongtai, Prince Zhanghuai, Prince Yide, Li Jinxing and Xue Yuanchao.