The Chengde Mountain Resort contains palaces, lakes, plains, and mountains. Qing emperors lived and conducted affairs there, with several temples also standing nearby.
The garden drew inspiration from landscapes in different regions. Together with the surrounding temples, it reflects Qing court activities, religious policies, and exchanges among different peoples.
Historical context
Chengde Mountain Resort ( Manchu: Halhūn be jailara gurung) is a large complex of imperial palaces and gardens situated in the Shuangqiao District of Chengde in northeastern Hebei province, northern China, about 225 kilometres (140 mi) northeast of China's capital Beijing. This resort was frequently used as a summer vacation place before the Kuomintang Republic of China. Because of its vast and rich collection of Chinese landscapes and architecture, Chengde Mountain Resort in many ways is a culmination of all the variety of gardens, pagodas, temples and palaces from various regions of China. In 1994, The Mountain Resort was awarded World Heritage Site status.
Chengde is one of China's four famous gardens, national relic protection unit and Class 5A Tourist Attractions in China.
History
Built between 1703 and 1792 by Chinese architects, the Mountain Resort took 89 years to complete. It covers a total area of 5.6 km (2.2 sq mi), almost half of Chengde's urban area. It is a vast complex of palaces and administrative and ceremonial buildings. Temples of various Chinese architectural styles and gardens blend harmoniously into a landscape of lakes, pastureland and forests.
The rulers of the Qing regime often spent several months a year here to escape the summer heat in the capital city of Beijing and the palace zone in the southern part of the resort was therefore designed to resemble the Forbidden City in Beijing. It consists of two parts: a court in front, where the emperor received high officials, nobles of various minority nationalities, and foreign envoys; and bed chambers in the rear, which were the imperial family's living quarters, notably the Yanbozhishuang Hall, where the Kangxi spent a total of 12 summers while the Qianlong spent 52 summers in the hall during the course of their reign.
Scenic spots
The Mountain Resort is most famous for the 72 scenic spots which were named by the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors. Many of the scenic spots around the resort's lake area were copied from famous landscaped gardens in southern China. For instance, the main building on the Green Lotus Island, "Tower of Mist and Rain," is modeled upon a tower at the Nanhu Lake at Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province.
The resort's plain area also possesses characteristics of the scenery of the Mongolian grasslands. Forested mountains and valleys are dotted with various buildings. This includes a 70-meter (230 ft)-tall stone Chinese pagoda, one of the tallest in China, built in 1751 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. The pagoda is shaped with an octagonal base, while the pagoda's nine stories are decorated with colorful glazed tiles and the steeple is crowned with a gilded round spire.
The mountain setting
Chengde lies in a transition between warmer and colder temperate zones. Its continental monsoon climate brings a large contrast between daytime and nighttime temperatures. Winters are cold, with relatively little snow, while summer thundershowers interrupt periods of heat. This setting gives the mountain resort a different seasonal character from the plains farther south. Climate, wooded hills, open grassland, and water all contribute to the experience of the landscape rather than functioning as separate decorative features.