Chengde Mountain Resort Overview & Map Weather Transportation Information
The Mountain Resort, located in Chengde City, Hebei Province, covers an area of 564 square meters, almost half of Chengde's urban area. The mountain resort possesses scenery of both north and south China. Construction began in 1703 under the rule of Emperor Kang Xi and was completed in 1790 under the rule of Emperor Qian Long. In December, 1994 The Chengde Mountain Resort and temples around it was listed in the Chronology of Recognition of World Heritage in China.
Why people come here
Chengde, a town that boasts imperial summer retreat complex in China. True to its name, the Mountain Resort is known to be at least 3 degrees Celsius cooler than Chengde City itself. More and more visitors come here in order to escape the heat. A vast complex of palaces and administrative and ceremonial buildings. Temples of various architectural styles and imperial gardens blend harmoniously into a landscape of lakes, pastureland and forests. In addition to its aesthetic interest, the Mountain Resort is a rare historic vestige of the final development of feudal society in China.
Where a Summer Palace Emperors share
The Kangxi, Qianlong and Jiaqing Emperors in Qing dynasty often spent several months a year here to escape the summer heat in the capital city of Beijing and the palace zone in the southern part of the resort was therefore designed to resemble the Forbidden City in Beijing. It consists of two parts: a court in front, where the emperor received high officials, nobles of various minority nationalities, and foreign envoys; and bed chambers in the rear, which were the imperial family's living quarters.
Getting around
General Layout
The Chengde Mountain Resort is found in a long and narrow ravine by the Wulie River in the Yanshan Mountains. The resort itself is enclosed with a 10-kilometre-long, 13-metre-wide stone wall that runs up and down the terrain in a way reminiscent of the Great Wall. The resort itself falls into two parts, palaces and gardens.
What to see
The Mountain Resort is most famous for the 72 scenic spots which were named by the Kangxi and Qianlong Emperors. Many of the scenic spots around the resort's lake area were copied from famous landscaped gardens in Southern China.
Garden Zone
The garden zone, which extends from southeast to northwest, is divided into three scenic parts: lake, plain and mountains, which are clustered with 120 buildings and 72 scenic spots. With gardens contained in gardens, and scenery in scenery, the entire resort forms a richly variegated, three dimensional picture scroll.
Palace Zone
The palaces are in three building complexes. First, the main palaces arranged symmetrically on an axial line, with three gateways and the main palace, the Danpojingcheng Hall, forming the front and a number of courtyards forming the residential quarter for the emperor and his harem. Second, the Pine and Crane Chamber is where the Empress Dowager stayed in summer. Situated on the eastern side of the main palace, the chamber is slightly smaller than the main palace and consists of eight courtyards. Third, the eastern palace, situated to the east of the Pine and Crane Chamber, and its main structure, the Tower of Clear Voice, was a three-floor theatre which was destroyed in 1945.
The Danpojingcheng Hall
The Danpojingcheng Hall of the frontal palaces covers an area of 583 square meters. Its window panels, partitioning walls, and screens are inscribed with such patterns as bats and crocket and such Chinese characters as "wan" and "show". Because it was rebuilt with nanmu wood in 1754, or the 19th year of the Qianlong Reign, it is also known as the "Namnu Hall".
In times of rain the namnu wood would emit a heady fragrance. This was where Qing emperors held courts and major ceremonies and received generals and officials, leaders of ethnic minority peoples and foreign diplomats. Hanging on the central wall of the hall is a horizontal board inscribed with four Chinese characters in the handwriting of Emperor Kangxi that are meant to remind the monarchs to live a thrift life in honor of their lofty political aspirations.
Kangxi built the Mountain Summer Resort for a political purpose, and that is why he avoided unnecessary pomp and pageantry in architecture. All the windows and doors were built of nanmu without being painted, which is totally different from the style of palaces in Beijing.
Tower of Mist and Rain (Yan yu lou)
A copy of a tower in Nanhu Lake at Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province. The resort's plain area possesses characteristics of the scenery of the Mongolian grasslands. Forested mountains and valleys are dotted with various buildings. This includes the Sarira Pagoda, a 70 m tall stone Chinese pagoda built in the year 1751 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. The pagoda is shaped with an octagonal base, while the pagoda's nine stories are decorated with colorful glazed tiles and the steeple is crowned with a gilded round spire.
Lake zone
The lakes are at once linked and separated by sandbars, isles, dykes and bridges into the Changhu, Chenghu, Ruyihu, Shanghu, Xiahu, Yinhu and Jinghu lakes. There are eight isles on the lake that are linked with dykes and bridges and decorated with quite a few pavilions and chambers. Most of these buildings are imitations of houses found in the lower Yangtze valley.
The lakes which are overgrown with reed combine to form a vast expanse of water, and the dykes and banks wind their way through a series of sandbars and isles. A cruise on the lakes brings the visitor in contact with the scenery of this world of water.
Attractions around suggest to see
To the northeast of the walls of the Chengde Summer Palace, you will find the Eight Outer Temples, each built in a way that drew on the architectural styles of ethnic groups such as Mongolian, Tibetan and Ugyur.
Even here, many of the most famous landmarks are homages to other important Chinese landmarks. The Hall of Brightness in one of the main temples is a complex recreation of a section in the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, while another of the temples is modeled after the Potala Palace in Lhasa.
what to eat
A good pick is rou jia mo, which is a bread pocket stuffed with pork and cilantro. Not to be missed are the great Chengde hand-tossed noodles, straight from a big black pot sizzling with peppers, eggs and greens. Corn on the cob, a local speciality, is tasty and sold eveywhere.
some of local specials include rice rolls with a sweet bean stuffing and boyu mian, a snow- white noodle that's served in a chicken stock. In some restaurant, you can also find local wild game like deer or pheasant, fresh and lightly seasoned.
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Yellow Mountains
Chengde Mountain Resort
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Mt. Emeishan
Mt. Taishan
Mt. Wuyishan
Mt. Qingchengshan
Echoing-Sand Mountain
Mt. Putuoshan
Mt. Wutaishan
Mt. Wudangshan
Mt. Tianzishan
Mt. Changbaishan
Mt. Cangshan
Mt. Huashan
Mt. Qianshan
Mt. Yuelushan
Mt. Hengshan
Flaming Mountain
Mt. Hengshan
Mt. Laoshan
Mt. Geleshan
Great Wall at Badaling
Forbidden City
Potala Palace
Tian'anmen Square
Great Wall at Mutianyu
Great Wall at Juyong Pass
Kuimen
Xi'an City Wall
Hutong in Beijing
Kong Family Mansion
Dujiangyan Irrigation System
Jiayu Pass
Sacred Way
Kizilgaha Thousand Buddha Cave
Yumbulagang Palace
Great Wall at Simatai
Binglingsi Grottoes
Mural in Baisha Village
Mawangdui
Dazu Rock Carvings
Tangyue Archway
Ancient City Wall of Pingyao
Grand Kuqa Mosque
Great Wall at Jinshanling
Former French Concession
Hefang Street
Chengyang Bridge
Mapang Drum Tower
Ling Canal
Palgor Chorten
Wenshuyuan
Qiao Family's Compound
Old Summer Palace
Puppet Emperor's Palace
Mu Family Mansion
New Palace of Panchen
Du Fu Cottage
Nine Dragon Screen
Daxu Ancient Town
Chongqing People's Assembly Hall
Panmen Gate
Overhanging Great Wall
Hulishan Fortress
Nanluoguxiang Alley
Astana Tombs
Former Residence of Mao Zedong
Broad and Narrow Alley in Chengdu
Badabu
