When planning your China Tours, probably you will consider to Travel to Beijing. Then nearby the Chengde Mountain Resort will also be a brilliant destination.
The Mountain Resort in Chengde is one of the four most famous Chinese gardens and one of the largest and best-preserved imperial palaces outside Beijing. It used to be a summer resort and hunting ground for emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). They also used the palace to organize martial art competitions and receive the elite of ethnic minority groups from around China.
The Mountain Resort is located in Chengde City, Hebei Province, covering an area of 564 square meters, almost half of Chengde’s urban area. It is enclosed by a wall 10400 meters long. Construction began in 1703 under the rule of Emperor Kang Xi and was completed in 1790 under the rule of Emperor Qian Long. It was a second political center apart from Beijing, for the emperor would stay here for about half a year to attend to political, military, ethnic, and foreign affairs. There are more than 100 buildings within the resort, which is divided into two sections: palace zone and garden zone. The Rehe (Jehol), the shortest river in the world, only 14.7 kilometers long, runs through the resort. The gardens are superbly designed to take in the very best of various styled gardens, integrating the features of both the northern meadows and the southern waterscapes, in a layout of lake in the southeast, mountain in the northwest, and plain in the northeast.
The resort consists roughly of the palace and the scenic area, and the latter could be subdivided into three: the lake, the meadow, and the mountain. The palace is traditional and majestic, the lake is shining with silver water, the meadow is green with grass and flowers, and the mountain is grand with surprising peaks, all enclosed in the palace wall as long as 10km or more. Altogether there are over 120 buildings of halls, courtyards, or temples, with 72 recognized scenic spots, 36 by each of the two highly admired emperors Kang Xi and Qian Long. The dominant mood of the buildings is plainness and elegance, and inspiration from the nature of the landscape.
In the outlying area, 11 magnificent temples stand on the hills in a semi-circle. As they were divided into eight sections under the administration of the Beijing-based Harmony and Peace Lamasery (a monastery for lamas), they were usually referred to as the “Eight Outer Temples”. Only seven temples, including Puren Temple (Universal Humanity), Temple of Sumeru (Happiness and Longevity) and Puning Temple (Universal Tranquility) remain intact.
They comprise the largest temple building complex existing in China. They were used by nobles of various ethnic minority groups who came to have an audience with the Qing emperors, and to reside and conduct religious activities. These temples, built on the elevating hill slopes, look grand and splendid. The wood engraved Buddha in the Puning Temple, 22.28 meters tall, is the largest of its kind in the world. Its waist measures 15 meters and it has 42 arms. Some 120 cubic meters of wood, weighing some 110 tons, were used to make the Buddha.
The buildings of the resort were all built in blue bricks and gray tiles that are traditional and plain, whereas its outlying temples are all roofed with glazed color tiles that looks grand, golden luxury, and glorious.
The summer resort and the surrounding temples were placed on the world cultural heritage list in 1994.
If you are interested in such historical heritage and natural beauty, please book your China Flights and come to the Chengde Mountain Resort.
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