The Fragrant Tomb of Taoranting (香冢)

Peking · China · Cemetery · Scare 2/5

Amid the paupers' notorious burial grounds stood one lone grave with a cryptic poem – who rested in the 'Fragrant Tomb' no one knows to this day.

For centuries the land around the Taoranting pavilion in southern Beijing was the city's back yard: desolate reed flats full of mass graves and charity burial grounds, where the poor, the homeless and the nameless were put into the earth without a stone. In the middle of this field of the dead, on the Jinqiu mound, stood one tended, solitary grave known as Xiangzhong, the Fragrant Tomb. Its stele bore a mournful poem of beauty perished and 'a remnant of fragrance' buried in the soil – but no name. The guesses became legends: a famous courtesan, some whispered; the fragrant consort Xiangfei, said others; fallen Ming loyalists, insisted a third. A postscript hinted, prosaically, that a failed examination candidate had buried his own poems. The grave is long gone, but the riddle and the countless nameless dead still lend Taoranting its peculiar hush at dusk.

FAQ

How scary is The Fragrant Tomb of Taoranting (香冢)?

The Fragrant Tomb of Taoranting (香冢) has a scare factor of 2/5 according to Haunted Places’ verified ratings.

Where is The Fragrant Tomb of Taoranting (香冢) located?

The Fragrant Tomb of Taoranting (香冢) is in Peking, China.