Maoling mausoleum, on the Weibei plateau north of the Wei River and 45 kilometers from Xi'an, in Xing ping City ,a spot which derives its name from a Han Dynasty Mao Village, has more than ten mausoleums. These are small pyramids covered with grass. The largest one is the mausoleum of the most powerful and important Han ruler, Emperor Wu Di (Liu Che, 140BC---87BC). He was the fifth emperor in the Western Han Dynasty. He came to the throne at 16 and was in power for 54 years. The First Qin Emperor and Emperor Wu Di are usually regarded as equals because the former established autocratic state of centralized power in the feudal society while the latter had it developed and consolidated. During his region, the Western Han Dynasty became unprecedentedly rich and powerful, centralization strengthened and its feudal economy flourished. And the well-known Silk Road was opened.

In surrounding mausoleums of Emperor Wu Di's favorite concubine Madame Li, the army generals Huo Qubing, Wei Qing, and Huo Guang, and his horse breeder Jin Mindi are also buried. Some graves are square, some round, and some shaped like a mountain.
Maoling Mausoleum is cone shaped, 46.5 meters tall and occupying an area of 54,054 square meters. The wall surrounding the tomb is 430.87 meters from east to west, 414.87 meters from north to south and has a foundation of 5.8 meters in width. The ruins of the gates on the east, west and north sides can still be clearly discerned.

Because of the Confucian emphasis on ancestor worship and the continuity of one's lineage, being assured of a proper burial was very important during one's lifetime. It is not surprising that Emperor Wu Di was reassured to know that his mausoleum was being constructed throughout his reign; the construction process lasted 53 years, from the second year of his reign(139BC)until his death in 87BC.

The famous young general Huo Qubing, who, on six occasions, fought the Hun invaders bravely, was buried on the eastern side of the mausoleum one kilometer away. In 1987, Maoling Museum was set up at the place where Huo Qubing's Tomb is located. Eave tiles, Han bricks, pottery figures and other valuable historic artifacts that have been excavated at Maoling Mausoleum as well as the giant stone carvings that were originally placed in front of Huo Qubing's tomb, are now on display there. Most stone carvings are given vivid animal shapes: horses in action, a tiger, an elephant, and a giant toad , etc. These are the oldest and best preserved examples of China large, two-thousand-year-old stone sculptures in an impressive simple yet forceful style.