the Sacred Way： At the southern end of the mausoleum area is the main gate of the mausoleum area-the main gate of the palace called the Great Red Gate.Two tablets used to be placed on both sides of the gate which said: “dignitaries,officials and other persons arriving here must dismount from their horses.”The central entrance was reserved for the body of the dead emperor alone,the living emperor had to use the left entrance when he came to pay homeage to their ancestors.One more kilometer north of the main gate of the palace is a stele pavilion,on the back of the stele marble was engraved resume of Zhu Di,the emperor of Chenzu of the Ming Dynasty and on the upper front was engraved characters. “Stele of Divine Merit and Sacred Virtue,Changling,Great Ming.”The stele is carried on a marble tortoise,which,according to Chinese Legend,is the Son of Dragon,which the emperor called himself.Going inward from the stele Pavilion is the 3.5 km long Sacred Way,which means the road leading to Heaven.The emperor,known as the Son of Heaven went through the sacred road to the sacrificial altar to converse Heaven during his reign,naturally,after his death,he would also go through the Sacred Way back to heaven.Alongside the Sacred Way are 18 pairs of marble figures lined up in antithesis,these marble figures,sculptured from whole stones,were erected over 500 years ago,the traditional way of putting over marble figures as guard of honour in front of the mausoleum began in the Han Dynasty which signified the dignity of the emperor,symbolizing the good fortune and warding off evil influence.