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 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 Areas
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.
The Mountain Resort of Chengde is a fine example of China's royal gardens, which used various traditional ways to combine features of southern China and the grassland in nomadic north of China in an arrangement with more than 120 buildings.