Our group was dropped off at one end -- we walked through -- and our bus picked us up at the north gate. The walk represents the journey from the secular world to the spiritual world and leads to the 13 Ming tombs. "shenlu" means sacred way and the path is guarded by carved stone men and animals that guard the tombs. They are in pairs -- alternately standing and resting -- on and off duty. Our guide told us to be sure and say, "I'm back," when we existed the gate and returned "to life."

The carved stone animals followed by carved stone officials and generals are part of the Sacred Way. We stopped here first before going to Changling Tomb. The path is well maintained and very picturesque. The tour bus used to drive through here but tour groups no longer stop here so it is really quiet now. I would recommend visiting if you have extra time. We were dropped off at the front entrance and picked up at the other end, took about an hour to walk.