In March-June,1998,the Institute of Archaeology,Nanjing Museum,surveyed theMing ancestral mausoleum in Xuyi county with the purpose of inquiring into its general layout.The re-sults show that the central axis of the tomb garden stretches north—south from the underground palacethrough the ancestral temple in the imperial city,the "golden gate" and the spirit road to the southerngate in the middle brick city-wall,and that all buildings within the tomb garden are symmetrically ar-ranged along the central axis.In addition,the location and limits of the imperial city,middle brick cityand related buildings were clarified.These provide the most important firsthand material for the protec-tion of the Ming ancestral mausoleum in Xuyi county.
