The area was said to be discovered by the Kangxi emperor while hunting on the grasslands. For many Qing Dynasty rulers, Chengde was the seat of government for half the year and the second most powerful city after Beijing.
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Putuo Zongcheng Temple, one of the Outlying Temples of Chengde's Mountain Resort, is magnificent and spectacular with clinquant gold plates and copper tiles. Photos Provided to China Daily
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The Mountain Resort consists of the palace area and various pleasure areas. Imagine a vast area of varied architectural styles blending in utmost harmony into a landscape of forests, grasslands and lakes.
The palace area consists of four groups of buildings. They are constructed of black bricks and gray tiles in the simple traditional Chinese style, but with an obvious touch of imperial solemnity.
There are eight lakes in the garden and the lake area is laid out in accordance with traditional Chinese garden design. There are also eight small islands dotted with buildings, many of which are imitations of houses found south of the Yangtze River.
Further afield there are the Outlying Temples that were built to appease ethnic groups such as Mongolians and Tibetans, and to strengthen the imperial administration of the border regions. They consist of 12 lamaseries built in Han, Tibetan or a hybrid style. These ornate, majestic temples are in sharp contrast to the simple design of the palace area. The temples were mainly used by the ethnic representatives to hold audiences with the emperor.
My favorite is the largest one: Putuo Zongcheng Temple, a replica of the Potala Palace in Tibet autonomous region.
It was built to celebrate Emperor Qianlong's 60th birthday and his mother's 80th. The temple is magnificent and spectacular with clinquant gold plates and copper tiles.
Another, the Temple of Universal Peace, houses one of the biggest gold painted wooden Buddhas in the world, the Guanshiyin Bodhisattva with one thousand arms and one thousand eyes. Here's looking at you, kid!
There are many places to see slightly further afield. The one I enjoyed most was a 20-minute ride from the center of town.
It's the Kangxi Ceremony, held every evening from mid-May through mid-October, featuring the clever use of natural surroundings, high-tech lighting and lasers. It involves a cast and staff of a thousand people, and 200 performing horses.
The ceremony traces the life and many achievements of one of the giants of Chinese imperial history. While this spectacular show is performed in Chinese, subtitles in English, Japanese and Korean help explain this magnificent story.
Another place to visit is the Fengning Grassland, a great summer holiday resort for escaping the hot summer sun.
The average summer temperature is a pleasant 17.4 C. Recently, many vacation villages and vacation centers have sprung up so visitors can enjoy activities like horse riding, camel riding and archery.
The grassland is on a vast plateau covered with green grasses and wild flowers.
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