CHINA 5A TRAVEL
The Qing emperors' summer capital and China's largest surviving imperial garden — 560 hectares of lakes, grasslands and pine-covered hills where court life moved each year, ringed by the 'Eight Outer Temples' that mirror Tibet, Mongolia and the Yangtze in miniature.
Begun by the Kangxi Emperor in 1703 and completed 89 years later under Qianlong, the Mountain Resort at Chengde was the Qing dynasty's summer palace and diplomatic stage, 230 km northeast of Beijing. Here, escaping the capital's heat, emperors hunted, handled state affairs and received Mongol princes and Tibetan lamas — and the empire's diversity was written into the landscape itself.
The resort's 560 hectares span four worlds: the dignified Palace Zone of nanmu halls; the Lake Zone of islets, bridges and pleasure pavilions modelled on Jiangnan gardens; the Plain Zone of grassland, Mongolian yurts and the Wenjin Pavilion library; and the wild Mountain Zone, four-fifths of the park, crossed by mountain roads with valley views. The surrounding 'Eight Outer Temples' complete the vision — the Putuo Zongcheng Temple is a mini-Potala Palace in white and red, while the Puning Temple shelters a 27-metre wooden Guanyin.
UNESCO-listed since 1994, the resort rewards unhurried days: misty morning lakes, pine-scented ridge roads, and evenings when the wall gates glow over the Zhengzhong moon-lit lake — the quietest of China's great imperial gardens.
Highlights
Palace Zone
The emperor's working summer quarters — austere nanmu halls where the court really governed for half of each year.
Lake Zone
Eight lakes stitched with bridges, the Yanyu (Misty Rain) Tower islet and the Nine-Curve moon bridge — Jiangnan in the north.
Putuo Zongcheng Temple
The 'Little Potala' (separate ticket) — a hill-swallowing replica of Lhasa's palace built for Tibetan delegations.
Puning Temple's Giant Buddha
A 27-metre, thousand-armed Guanyin carved from five cypress pines — the world's tallest wooden Buddha statue.
Mountain Zone Ridge Roads
Pine forests and four pavilions command the resort's best panoramas — the mountain loop bus makes the circuit easy.
Sledgehammer Peak
The strange 38-metre rock pillar looming over the resort's east wall (separate scenic area).
Photo Gallery
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