Chengde Mountain Resort

Chengde Mountain Resort or Ligong is the world's largest existing imperial garden Which situated in the city of Chengde in Hebei Province.

How it Got its Name
Due to its proximity to Beijing (140 miles /230 km northeast of Beijing), which allowed it to be used as a summer retreat for China's emperors from the Qing dynasties. Known as the Imperial Summer Resort or Imperial Mountain Resort, it served as a cooler location for the Qing dynasty emperors to escape from the often oppressive heat of Beijing during long hot summers. As the seat of political power moved with the emperors, Chengde thus served as an important place of political power in China during these summer retreats. The construction of the Imperial Summer Resort began in 1703 under Emperor Kangxi, with major construction finally finished in 1790.

Structure of Imperial Summer Villa
Imperial Summer Villa comprises two parts, the palace area and the scenic area. Ringed by a wall ten km long that rises and falls with the surrounding hills, there are in all more than 110 architectural structures within the wall, including halls, offices, studios, studies, towers and buildings for landscaping purposes. In the palace area are the main palace hall, Hall of Pines and Cranes, Hall of Pine Valleys, Eastern Hall, etc. The scenic area is made up of lakes, rolling fields and hillsides. Thirty-six of the sights in the villa were named and inscribed by Emperor Kangxi, all in four-character phrases. Another 36 were named and inscribed by Emperor Qianlong who, to show deference to his grandfather Kangxi, used three-character phrases only.

What is Chengde Best Known for
Chengde is best known for Bishu Shanzhuang, a summer getaway for the Qing emperor and his court that grew to be larger than the Forbidden City and Summer Palace combined. The selection of Chengde for the emperor's summer home also led over time to the establishment of an impressive series of temples.

What to Visit Chengde Mountain Resort
Chengde is worth several days to take in all its sights. The great Qing emperors Kangxi and Qianlong, responsible for the glory of Bishu Shanzhuang, used it not only for their own pleasure but as a way to symbolically bind together imperial China's far-flung and restive ethnic minorities. As a result, Chengde's temples and Mountain Resort buildings include wonderful replicas of Tibet's Potala Palace and various Tibetan and Mongolian Lama temples, along with indigenous Manchurian-style buildings and gardens that imitate the fantastic landscapes of southern China.
Though many structures have suffered neglect and damage over the years, a number have been recently restored. Alongside the remains of the imperial summer resort, the area's natural landscape has much to offer, from pleasant paths through woods and grasslands to the bizarre rock formation known as Sledgehammer Rock.
 
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Climate of Chengde Mountain Resort
The hottest month is July, which sees average high temperatures of 31º C (88º F) and relatively humid air. July is also the wettest month on average. September is lovely, with highs in the mid 20sº C (mid 70sº F), and by October the weather becomes crisp, with clear cool days and average lows at night of 3º C (38º F). Snowfall can come as early as late October and winter is quite cold and dry, with January average lows hitting -16º C (4º F). After fall, spring is generally agreed to be the best time to visit, with April, May and early June being particularly pleasant before the summer heat sets in. Even at the height of summer, however, Chengde nights are refreshingly cool, often dipping into the upper teens Celsius (50s-60sº F).

Importance of Imperial Summer Villa
Chengde Summer Resort, together with the temples around, was added to the World Heritage List by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) in 1994. So far, many scenic attractions in Chengde have already been rated as 4-A class, highest level in this field in China.

Chengde has advantaged and abundant tourist resources. It has the world's largest royal hunting- the Mulan Paddock; the largest royal garden-the Summer Resort; the greatest royal temple group -the Eight Temples in the north of the Great Wall; the biggest wooden Buddha statue -the Kwan-yin Bodhisattva with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes, and the shortest river- the Hot River.