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Chengde Travel Guide

Chengde Overview

Chengde is one of the premier historic and cultural cities of China, is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, situated just 230km northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden city formerly used as the summer residence by the Manchu Emperors of the Qing Dynasty.

The topography of Chengde is mainly divided into plateau and mountainous regions, including Yanshan, Yinshan and Qilaotushan mountains, as well as the Luanhe, Liaohe, Chaobaihe and Jiyunhe rivers flowing through the city, providing the natural beauty and pleasant summer climate that inspired the Kangxi Emperor, in 1703, to choose this region as the location for his summer residence.

Constructed throughout the eighteenth century, the Mountain Resort was used by both the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors; as the city of Jehol, it reached its summit under the Qianlong Emperor 1735-1796. Since the seat of government followed the emperor, Chengde was a political centre of the Chinese empire during those times. The Mountain Resort and Eight Outer Temples are now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It preserves rich culture related to its own history as well as many historic relics dating as far back as the Neolithic Age.

The great monastery temple of the Potala, loosely based on the famous Potala Palace in Lhasa, was completed after just four years of work in 1771. It was heavily decorated with gold and the emperor worshipped in the Golden Pavilion. In the temple is a bronze-gilt statue of Tsongkhapa, the Reformer of the Gelugpa sect.

Ethnic groups such as Xiongnu, Xianbei, Qidan, Nvzhen, and Mongolians lived a nomadic existence in this region from the Qin (221BC-206) to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Today the region is still home to large populations of ethnic minorities, particularly Mongol and Manchu.

In Chengde, you will have the opportunity to taste the unique local dishes and snacks, both of royal and folk flavours due to its historic and ethnic links.

Road, rail and air transport links with Chengde are very well developed providing you with many choices for your journey.

Chengde Facts
Chengde History
Chengde Climate & Weather
Best Time for Chengde Travel
Chengde Transportation

Area Code: 0314

Zip Code: 067000

Area: 4,471 square kilometers

Population: The city is home to large populations of ethnic minorities, Mongol and Manchu in particular. The name for Chengde in Manchu is Erdemu be aliha fu.

Administrative Division: Chengde is divided into 3 municipal districts and 8 counties administratively, namely,

3 Districts
Shuangqiao District
Shuangluan District
Yingshouyingzi Mining District

8 Counties
Chengde County
Xinglong County
Pingquan County
Kuancheng Manchu Autonomous County
Longhua County
Fengning Manchu Autonomous County
Luanping County
Weichang Manchu and Mongol Autonomous County

Chengde is a nationally famous historical and cultural city in China. You may wonder what made Chengde what it is today? Who were the major personalities and what were the important events that helped shape Chengde? The story of Chengde will be showed to you in this article.

Chengde has a long history. It was originally called "Rehe" in Chinese history. As early as the late Neolithic primitive society, our ancestors had lived in this land, axes. Rich historical relics, such as stone axe, sinkers, pottery and other ancient things, have been found here. These are the remains of their working life here. During Yin and Zhou era in Chinese history, here was living area of Shanrong and Donghu national minorities. In Qin and Han dynasties, the ancient central government had set up administrative bodies in this place.

In the Qing Dynasty, Rehe became increasingly important, for it is close to Beijing, Tianjin, Zhangjiakou in the west, Liaoning in the east, Inner Mongolia in the north, Tangshan and Qinhuangdao in the south. It was an important regional city in Yanshan hinterland and the Bohai Sea area.

For the unique natural conditions of climate and natural property, it can not only get away from the heat in summer, but also can be contacted Mongolia, consolidating frontier defense. Therefore, in 1703, Chengde was chosen by the Kangxi Emperor as the location for his summer residence, which is called "Chengde Imperial Summer Palace of Mountain Resort" today. Constructed throughout the eighteenth century, the Mountain Resort was used by both the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. The site has been listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Since the seat of government followed the emperor, Chengde was a political center of the Chinese empire during these times. During the reign of Yongzheng Emperor, Rehe was called Chengde for the first time.

The city of Jehol (Rehe) reached its height under the Qianlong Emperor, which was in the reign of Qing Dynasty from 1735 to 1796. The great Putuo Zongcheng Temple in Chengde was completed after just four years of work in 1771. It was heavily decorated with gold and the emperor worshipped in the Golden Pavilion. In the temple, there was a bronze-gilt statue of Tsongkhapa, the Reformer of the Gelugpa, etc.

From 1933 to 1945 the city was under Japanese control as a part of the Manchurian puppet state known as Manchukuo.

In 1948, the People's Liberation Army took control of Chengde. It would remain a part of Rehe until 1955, when the province was abolished, and the city was incorporated into Hebei.

In December 1994, the Mountain Resort and the surrounding temples (Rehe Palace) were inscribed on the World Heritage List. On May 8, 2007, the Chengde Mountain Resort and the surrounding temples scenic were formally approved by the National Tourism Administration for the state 5A-class tourist attractions.

Since a long time ago, the city is home to large populations of ethnic minorities, Mongol and Manchu in particular.

Chengde has a four-season, monsoon-influenced humid continental climate, with widely varying conditions through the prefecture due to its size: winters are moderately long, cold and windy, but dry, and summers are hot and humid. Near the city, however, temperatures are much cooler than they are in Beijing, due to the high altitude of at least 1000 meters: Monthly means range from −9.1 °C (15.6 °F) in January to 24.5 °C (76.1 °F) in July. Spring warming is rapid, but dust storms can blow in from the Mongolian steppe; autumn cooling is similarly quick. Precipitation averages at 512 millimeters (20.2 in) for the year, with more than two-thirds of it falling during the three summer months.

Climate Data Table of Chengde

Month

Item
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average Temperature
(℃)
-8.8 -4.2 3.0 12.0 18.3 22.8 24.8 23.3 12.6 10.5 1.8 -6.1
Rainfall (mm) 2.5 3.6 8.3 18.9 49.5 86.6 144.7 118.2 48.2 21.3 7.5 2.5
Days of rainfall 1.6 2.1 3.7 4.5 7.8 11.1 14.2 12.6 7.7 5.0 2.5 1.4

The best time to visit Chengde is summer; it is also the peak season of the year. People go there for the summer resort, which provide a shelter for people to escape the heat in the urban. Chengde is renowned for its beautiful scenery and the palaces; the highlight is the summer resort. The summer resort is a large complex of imperial palaces and gardens, if you are not on a package tour; then you need take a cart to the main attractions. The highlight is the palaces and the lama temples; they are much like the palace museum. The surrounding is always worth a look. When you get in, do keep your entrance ticket receipt, there are several ticket checks.

If you stay for overnight, you need warm clothes; there is a huge temperature difference between day and night. The sun there is hot; bring your umbrella or some sunshine-blocking cream.

Avoid Peak Holidays: It is not a good idea to travel in China during Chinese holidays when huge numbers of Chinese people are travelling around. The busiest three national holidays in China are Chinese Spring Festival (usually in late Jan or early Feb.), International Labor Day (May 01 to 03) and National Day (Oct 01-07). Spring Festival is an especially crowded time to travel. The advantage of being in China at this time is that you will get the opportunity to experience "first hand" the significance of these celebrations in Chinese culture.

Both the internal and the external transportation of Chengde are very well developed and although there is only a small-scale airport, chartered flights flying between Beijing and Chengde will provide you more choices for your journey. In addition, railway and road links can connect you to many cities, such as Tianjin, Shenyang, Baotou, Ulanhot, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia, etc. City buses provide a fine and integrated transport service; taxis are also a good choice due to their convenience and inexpensiveness.

Chengde Tours & Tings to Do