The city if Chengde in Hebei Province is a cool and scenic summer resort 250 kilometers northeast of Beijing. More than two hundred years ago Emperor Kang Xi (1662-1723) discovered this rare scenic spot during a hunting trip. It took eighty-seven years to complete the construction of a temporary palace in what used to be called Rehe (Jehol), also known by the quaint name "Mountain Hamlet for Escaping the Heat." The palace is enclosed by a wall over ten kilometers long, which rises and falls with the mountain ridges. It is the largest and best-preserved imperial palace outside of the capital.

Qing emperors Kang Xi, Qian Long, and Jia Qing 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.

Many of the scenic spots around the resort's lake area were copied from famous landscaped gardens I south China. For instance, the main building on Green Lotus Island, "Tower of Mist and Rain," (Yanyulou) is 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 building.

The Mountain Resort of Chengde, located at Chengde City Hebei Province, is the largest imperial garden in modern China. It covers a total area of 564 square kilometers, and is twice as large as the Summer Palace in Beijing. In the Qing Dynasty, it took 89 years (1703 ~ 1792) to complete. The emperors Kangxi and then Qianlong were in charge of this project.

The Mountain Resort, also a summer resort, is an important location of wonderful scenery and pleasant climate. Grand palaces, delicate temples, peculiar mountains, exquisite pavilions and tranquil waters are full of beautiful things in your eyes. You will have the choices of walking, hiking, climbing, riding and boating inside the garden.

The Palace Area and Scenic Area are the main parts of the Mountain Resort.

Palace Area: Palaces in China conjure up pictures of majesty and splendor. Certainly most palaces are just like that, but I am sure you will have a different view if you come to visit the palace in the Mountain Resort. The architectural style of the palace is very unique, and similar to the resident houses in North China. Black bricks and gray tiles, rock steps and the cute courtyard covered with old pine trees look very old-timey, peaceful and elegant.

The palace area is made up of the Main Palace, Pine-Crane Hall, Pine Soughing Valley and East Palace. In the past, the Qing emperors lived there and dealt with some government affairs. It was the second center of the imperial palace at that time. The Forbidden City in Beijing was the first one. But the emperors liked to hold some celebrations in the mountain resort, because they felt relaxed and comfortable there.

Scenic Area -- Lake Zone, Plain Zone and Mountain Zone

Lake Zone: Water gives everything infinite vitality and energy, so the scenery of the lake zone sparkles like a diamond in the Mountain Resort. Lying in the southeast of the resort, the lake zone has nine lakes and ten islands, such as Half-moon Lake, Mirror Lake, Silver Lake, Inner Lake and others, around which are the main scenic areas. Weeping willows crooning along the banks and green waves poppling on the lake make up a wonderful picture.

Plain Zone: Going north, you come to the plain zone. Facing the palace wall on the east with the mountains rising to the west, this area is mainly covered with grassland and woods. The plain zone is divided into three parts: an arboretum to the east with 28 various Mongolia tents; to the west is a piece of grassland where you can ride horses, and temples and other buildings lie to the north. Scenery on the plain zone is charmingly simple and serene.

Mountain Zone: There are four great valleys from north to south: Pine-cloud Valley, Pear Valley, Pine Valley and Filbert Valley. There you can enjoy the mountain scenery completely, including undulating hills, flourishing woods, steep peaks, gurgling streams and white waterfalls. It is pleasantly cool there, so you can comfortably spend your summer holidays.

Each year in the summer, the Qing emperors would come and live there for about five to six months. They could not only discuss the court affairs with the ministers but also enjoy themselves. Nowadays, once summer starts, most people think of the Mountain Resort of Chengde and would like to go there to spend their vacations.

The Eight Outer Temples

As they were under eight different administrations, they were usually referred to as the "eight Outer Temples." Eleven splendid temples were built more than two hundred years ago east and north of the resort. Only seven temples remain intact today, reflecting the traditional art and culture of the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan nationalities.

The Temple of the Potarak Doctrine (Putuozongshengmiao), occupying an area of 220,000 square meters, is by far the largest of all temples in the area. With rows of buildings rising at different levels from the south upwards, the temple is a copy of the Dalai Lama's Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. It was built to mark the sixtieth birthday of Emperor Qian Long and was used by him to receive nobles of the various minority nationalities in China. The Torguts, a Mongol tribe who had migrated from Xinjiang to the banks of the Volga and back, returned to their home in 1771. Together with leaders of various other nationalities, the Torguts arrived at Chengde for an audience with Emperor Qian Long when the temple was completed. This demonstrated the prosperity of a united nation at that Time.