Hairui Tomb

Hours & Admission Price Peak Season
Jan.-Dec.
08:00-17:30
10 Low Season
Jan.-Dec.
08:00-17:30
10 Address & Phone Yabin Village, Haikou City, Hainan Province Transportation Take bus NO.2,16, 19 to Hairui Tomb. Notes

As one of the "Eight Sceneries" of Haikou and one the most famous tourist attractions of Haikou, Hairui Tomb is the place where a famed honest and upright official named Hai Rui of Ming Dynasty was buried.

Located in the Yabin village in west outskirts of Haikou, Hairui Tomb has become one of the "Eight Sceneries" of Haikou and one the most famous tourist attractions of Haikou. Covering an area of 5,000 square kilometers, it was initially built in 1589 of Ming Dynasty with a history of more than 400 years.

Hai Rui

Hai Rui (1514 - 1587), born in Qiongshan City of Hainan Province, was an official in the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644). He gained high reputation among people for his honesty, integrity, and clean life.

A story tells people how honesty he was. During Ming Dynasty, Emperor Shi Zong believed in immortals, looked for ways to live forever and ignored the corruption of court officials. In 1566, he prepared a coffin for his death, said farewell to his wife and disbanded all servants. Then he went to the court, expressing his criticism and advice. His words enraged the emperor and brought him into prison. Even at the age of 72, he still tried his best to punish the court officials and overturned unjust cases. So he was respectfully called “Hai Qing Tian” (which means incorruptible and upright official). After his death, people voluntarily gathered together to attend his funeral ceremony.

Why Built Here

The coffin was carried to the very spot where the present tomb is situated on the way they were going to bury Hai Rui. Suddenly, the rope of the coffin broke and people thought this was the place that Hai Rui chose for himself. Hence a tomb was built here to commemorate the famous honest and upright official.

Constructions

At the gate of Hairui Tom, you can see a stone memorial archway carved with four Chinese characters “Yue Dong Zheng Qi”, which means the integrity and honesty. Stone sheep, stone horses, The grave path is paved with granites and stone statue shaped like sheep, horses, lions, tortures, and human beings stands along the both sides of the path leading to the tomb. The layout of the tomb is similar to the Yuefei Tomb in Hangzhou with a smaller scale.

The tomb is completely surrounded by white granite, with a round top, octagonal base. It is 3.3 meters (10.8 feet) high and faces to the west. Now, it is just an empty grave rebuilt in 1982 for people to esteem and memorize him.

>>Know more about the honest and upright official-Hai Rui:
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