A Bird＇s-eye View of Chengde Mountain Resort

Chengde Mountain Resort， located in Hebei Province， used to be an imperial palace in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It is the world’s largest existing imperial compound with palaces and administrative and ceremonial buildings.

Chengde， situated in the northeast part of Hebei Province in northern China and about 250 kilometers northeast of the capital city， is now a picturesque city surrounded by mountains. The resort at the edge of Chengde City enjoys an average temperature of 21 degrees Celsius from June to August.

Construction of the royal complex began in 1703 and the last project was completed in 1792， spanning the reigns of Emperors Kangxi， Yongzheng， and Qianlong. It was a summer retreat built with a political motive， to appease and unite the minority people living in China’s border regions and to consolidate national unity.

In December 1994， Chengde Mountain Resort was listed by UNESCO on its list of World Heritage Sites. In May 2007， the resort and its eight outer Buddhist temples were designated by the China National Tourism Administration as the national 5A scenic spots. By the year of 2009， the total number of tourists the imperial palace complex had received since the founding of New China in 1949 was in excess of 1.3 billion.

The Resort

The palace complex in Chengde covers a total area of 5，600，000 square meters enclosed by a 10-km wall. Built in accordance with the terrain， the palace has five gates. Inside the complex are hills， dells， flatlands， and lakes. The resort consists of the Palace Area and the Garden. The garden comprises the lake area， the plain Area， the mountain area， and the Eight Outer Temples.

The building project started in 1703， about 60 years after Qing Dynasty was founded. The reason why it took several decades before construction began was partly because it took the dynasty that long to firmly establish its rule and bring peace to the whole country.

Architecturally， this ancient Chinese structure represents a perfect harmony of man and nature. The groups of buildings make use of many diverse architectural forms and take into geographic conditions there， bringing together the garden and architecture of north and south China.

The Qing emperors were so fascinated by the landscaping art and architecture in the south they had found on their southern inspections that they wanted to imitate southern architecture in Chengde. The Lake Area in the southeastern part of the resort is a perfect example. Several groups of buildings in this part help to present a landscape similar to that of the region to the south of the Yangtze Rive.

The Palace Area is in the south of the resort complex. It was in this complex that the visiting emperors lived， handled administrative matters， and held ceremonies during their stays. It consisted of four groups of buildings in a simple traditional Chinese style， but with Imperial solemnity. The emperors came to Chengde in the summer and spent a good deal of time at the resort， handling political and military affairs and receiving foreign envoys and the chiefs of minority people. It became a second political centre of the Qing Dynasty. In a small room in this palace complex， Emperor Jiaqing and Emperor Xianfeng passed away in 1820 and 1861 respectively. Empress Dowager Cixi in her youth once lived in a small courtyard next to the emperor’s.

In the west of the Plain Area stands Wenjinge (Knowledge Imparting Hall)， a well-known building in the resort named by Emperor Qianlong. It is an exquisite three-storey library in the architectural style of a famous national library called Tianyi Pavilion in Ningbo City， Zhejiang Province. The royal library once housed the Imperial Collection of Four had once stored.

The Eight Outer Temples

The Eight Outer Temples， located outside of the Mountain Resort， were built between 1713 and 1780. They were built in a bid to appease the ethnic minority peoples and to strengthen the administration of the border regions. Originally there were altogether eleven Buddhist sanctuaries in different architectural styles， and eight of them were under the direct jurisdiction of the central government. Only seven temples still exist today. Some of them are key cultural heritages under national protection.

The combination of the Han and other styles of architecture in China is a major feature of these temples. They display various sorts of Chinese ethnic structures， and are some rare art treasures.

Most impressive of the Tibetan-style lamaseries is the Putuo Zongcheng Lamasery. Built in 1767-71， the 220，000-square-meter temple is modeled on the design of the Potala Palace in Lhasa， the center of Lamaism at that time. Emperor Qianlong built it to accommodate visits by Dalai Lama of Tibet. □