The decoration in the tomb of the empress Cixi, housed in the basement of the palace, is of slightly inferior quality to that of Qianlong's tomb, although the palace itself is astonishingly beautiful. The decorative finesse of the phoenix, the symbols of the empress, and the dragons, symbols of the emperor, is particularly noteworthy. As with the tomb of Qianlong, the tomb of Cixi was pillaged by tomb-raiders in the early 20C.