Chengde Urban Area

The Qing emperors' summer palace, the Mountain Resort and the Eight Outer Temples (World Heritage), the odd peaks of Qingchui Peak and Shuangta Mountain, and the Jinshanling and Simatai Great Wall: the classic summer getaway from Beijing.

Chengde lies in northeastern Hebei Province, about 230 km northeast of Beijing, with its urban area set in the valley of the Wulie River. There are three main draws. First, the Mountain Resort and the surrounding temples (a World Heritage Site since 1994): the Qing emperors came here each summer to govern and escape the heat, and to the east and north of the resort stand the royal Tibetan–Han temples including Puning Temple, Putuo Zongcheng Temple, Xumi Fushou Temple, Pule Temple, Anyuan Temple and Shuxiang Temple. Second, the strange peaks and mountains, such as Qingchui Peak (Bangchui Mountain) east of the city, Shuangta Mountain in Shuangluan District, and Wuling Mountain, the highest peak in eastern Beijing–Hebei. Third, the Great Wall: the Jinshanling Great Wall in Luanping County and the neighboring Simatai Great Wall and Gubei Water Town in Beijing are popular for photography and hiking, and at Panjiakou in Kuancheng there is a rare “underwater Great Wall.” The climate is temperate monsoon; summers are 3–5°C cooler than Beijing, with July–August the peak season for escaping the heat, and late September to mid-October the best autumn colors at the Mountain Resort and the Eight Outer Temples. Winters are dry and cold, with few visitors. Getting there: from Beijing Chaoyang Station, high-speed rail to Chengde South takes about 1 hour, and the station is about 20 minutes by car from the Mountain Resort; self-driving via the Beijing–Chengde Expressway takes about 3 hours. The Jinshanling Great Wall is about 110 km by road from the city, and is well suited to a visit on the way to or from Beijing. Suggested length: 2 days in the city (1 day for the Mountain Resort, 1 day for the Eight Outer Temples and Qingchui Peak), plus half a day to 1 day for Jinshanling or Wuling Mountain; in the evening you can catch the live outdoor show “Golden Age: The Kangxi Grand Ceremony.” The Saihanba and Yudaokou grassland areas of Weichang in the north are about 250 km from the city; see the separate “Saihanba · Weichang” destination. Notes: the Mountain Resort and the Eight Outer Temples require real-name reserved tickets, so book ahead on the official mini-program in peak season. The resort covers 5.6 square kilometers, so take the loop bus or electric cart. The Eight Outer Temples are fairly spread out, so charter a car or take taxis to link them. Local specialties include boyu noodles, buckwheat hele noodles, Bagou lamb soup and Chengde Lulu almond drink.

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