The Zhaoling Mausoleum is located on the top of Jiujun Mountain, about 23 km northeast of Liquan County in Shaanxi Province.

The Zhaoling Mausoleum is the mausoleum of Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin)(r.599-649)in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). According to Old History of the Tang Dynasty - the Biography of Emperor Taizong, the mausoleum, which was built to bury Empress Zhangsun, was first built in the 10^th year  (636) of the Zhenguan reign, and completed by the 23rd year of the Zhenguan reign when Li Shimin was buried. The cultural relics management committee of Shanxi Province embarked on archaeological research and surveying of the mausoleum from 1962 to 1979.

The mausoleum was chiseled in the mountain that is 1,188 meters above sea level, and leans against the highest peak of Jiujun Mountain. The mausoleum area, the grave and the satellite tombs constitute the most typical architecture group of the mausoleum. The vast mausoleum is 12 km in length and 10 km in width; and there are pines and cypresses around it. Most of the ground construction collapsed and can be hardly seen. The watchtower and the Xian Hall of the Zhuque Gate on the south side, the Xuanwu Gate in the north, and the wall base of the sacrificial altar are still vaguely visible. A piece of ornament of roof ridges was once unearthed at the site of the Xian Hall, and it is 1.5 meters in height, 0.65 meters in width, and the bottom is 1 meters in length. From this we can see the grandness and the spectacularity of the original Xian Hall.

The stone statues of 14 kings are preserved in the sacrificial altar of the mausoleum. Besides, there were the world-famous basso-relievos of 6 coursers, but they were destroyed in 1914. Two of them were shipped in secret to the museum of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, US, while the other four had been repaired and displayed in Shanxi Province. These stone carvings fully manifested the art style of the paintings and stone carvings in the early Tang Dynasty.

In the mausoleum there are over 200 satellite tombs. Owners of 167 tombs have been identified. In the excavation in 1964, 13 large tombs were excavated, and 56 inscriptions on the memorial tablets and gravestones were found. The inscriptions on the tablet tell us that all of them were tombs of kings, princesses and famous ministers, such as Zheng Rentai, junior officer Chi Jingde and princess Linchuan. Various kinds of stone statues are preserved in front of many tombs today. In 1979, a museum was established at the site of the Zhaoling Mausoleum and many related cultural relics were on display in it for tourists.