The Mountain Resort (bì shǔ shān zhuāng 避暑山庄), located in the city of Chengde (chéng dé 承德) in northeastern Hebei province, is China’s largest imperial garden. Twice the size of Beijing’s Summer Palace, construction spanned nearly ninety years, beginning under Emperor Kangxi (kāng xī 康熙) in 1703 and lasting through the greater part of Emperor Qianlong’s (qián lóng 乾隆) reign. The Mountain Resort often saw use as a de facto second capital as Kangxi set a precedent followed by Qianlong and a succession of other Qing emperors of spending much of the year at the garden. 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. In 1994, the Mountain Resort became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

History
In early September 1703 when Emperor Kangxi finished his tour in North China and his hunting in the imperial preserves, he passed by Wulie River (wǔ liè hé 武烈河) on his way home. Seeing the towering Qingchui Peak (qìng chuí fēng 磬棰峰) in a delightful contrast with its surroundings, the emperor ordered to dig lakes, build dikes and gardens in this auspicious spot, where the summer was cool and winter was warm and there was a hot spring for bath. Thus appeared the Hot River Palaces (rè hé xíng gōng 热河行宫) and imperial gardens that condensed all beautiful scenic spots in north and south of China. This place is called the Mountain Resort.

Scenic Spots
The Mountain Resort, situates at present Chengde, Hebei Province, covers an area of 564 square meters, almost half of Chengde's urban area. It is enclosed by a wall 10,400 meters long. There are more than 100 buildings within the resort, which is divided into two sections: palace zone and garden zone. The Rehe (rè hé 热河), 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. The Mountain Resort has the palaces in its south and the gardens in the north. The palaces were for emperors to handle political affairs and to dwell; the gardens had lakes, hills and grassland. The buildings in the Resort with little ornaments were constructed in grey bricks and tiles and unpainted wood. The simple style emitted the charm of wild nature.

The main palaces in Mountain Resort had nine courtyards of different sizes, with the offices in the front and dwelling quarters at the back, which had been an established institution for imperial constructions. The main hall, the Hall of Simplicity and Piety (dàn bó jìng chéng diàn 澹泊敬诚殿), was later refurbished with unpainted nanmu (nán mù 楠木), hence the by-name Nanmu Hall. In wet days the hall gives out a faint smell of the wood nanmu.

The Mountain Resort has eight large and small artificial lakes. Emperor Kangxi commented the Resort as "having the mountains as the bone and water as the heart". Emperor Qianlong's remark "Though it is named Mountain Resort, its beauty is in water" highlighted the feature of the resort. Because Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong many times toured in South China and they appreciated the beautiful gardens there, many scenic spots after famous gardens throughout the country were built around the lakes in the Resort. The Gold Hill Temple (jīn shān sì 金山寺) in Zhenjiang (zhèn jiāng 镇江), the Tower of Mist and Rain (yān yǔ lóu 烟雨楼) at the South Lake (nán hú 南湖) in Jiaxing (jiā xīng 嘉兴) and likes were "moved" by the emperors into the resort. Those interesting buildings, however, were not exact copies.

North to the lakes in the Resort was a stretch of forest and grassland. It is said many elks, cranes and tribute horses from different places were kept there. Emperor Qianlong named this place "Garden of Ten Thousand Trees (wàn shù yuán 万树园)". In the north of this place there were once 28 yurts, in which important political activities took place. When Emperor Qianlong was in reign, he received chieftains of the Dorbot (dù ěr bó tè 杜尔伯特) and Torgut (tǔ ěr hù tè 土尔扈特) Mongolian (měng gǔ 蒙古) tribes and treated them with banquets there. It was also in one of these yurts that the British envoy George Macartney (qiáo zhì mǎ gá ěr ní 乔治·马嘎尔尼) submitted a credential.

Outside the palace walls, to the north and west, a total of 11 temples were built. Many of them were built in Tibetan style. Divided into eight groups, they became known as the Eight Outer Temples (wài bā miào 外八庙). The main gates of these buildings pointed towards the palace, symbolizing the unity of China's various ethnic groups under the central rule of the Qing emperors.
The tiered temples are built on the hill slopes facing south, and their main halls, standing in great prominence, are magnificent and spectacular. The Puning Temple (pǔ níng sì 普宁寺) was patterned after the Samye Monastery (sāng yē sì 桑耶寺) in Tibet, which was designed in accordance with the Buddhist view of the world. In the center of the Puning Temple is the Dacheng Pavilion (dà chéng diàn 大成殿), symbolizing Mount Sumeru (xū mí shān 须弥山), the center of the world.
The halls on the four sides of the Dacheng Pavilion symbolize the Four Great Continents (sì dà zhōu 四大洲). The Anyuan Temple (ān yuǎn miào 安远庙) was patterned after the Ili Temple (yī lí miào 伊犁庙) in Xinjiang (xīn jiāng 新疆); the Putuo Zongcheng Temple (pǔ tuó zōng chéng zhī miào 普陀宗乘之庙), after the Potala Palace (bù dá lā gōng 布达拉宫); and the Xumi Fushou Temple (xū mí fú shòu zhī miào 须弥福寿之庙), after the Tashilhunpo Monastery (zhā shí bù lún sì 扎什伦布寺) in Tibet. These buildings testify to the cultural exchanges between various ethnic groups in China. 

Snacks

After Qing Dynasty government establishment summer vacation mountain village in Chende, each place and the palace imperial meals cooking technique flows in Chende one after another, promoted the Chende diet culture prosperity and development. Adds Chende to be rich in the mountain treasure game, thus causes Chende place food to be characteristic.
The Chende characteristic flavor snack includes: shao mai (shāo mài 烧卖), crisp cakes biscuits (yóu sū bō bō 油酥饽饽), eight-treasure rice pudding (bā bǎo fàn 八宝饭), nansha cake (nán shā bǐng), fried cake box (jiān wǎn tuó 煎碗坨), Youmian (yóu mài miàn 莜麦面), etc.
 

Transportation:
Take NO.5, NO.7, NO.11 or NO.15 bus at Chengde Railway Station / Take NO.5 or NO.8 bus at Chengde Bus Station, you can reach The Mountain Resort.
Tel: 0314-2029771
Ticket:
RMB 90 in high season / RMB 60 in low season (* Time of high season: April 15 ~ October 15)
Opening hours: 8:00-17:30