Chengde Travel Guide 2023

With a perfect fusion of military defense, architectural art and surrounding scenic views, Jinshanling Great Wall is one of the most attractive sections of the Great Wall of China. It is also the great place for photography and hiking. Stretching 10.5 km long from east to west, Jinshanling Great Wall has 67 watchtowers, 5 passes and 3 beacon towers. Located in the mountainous area in Chengde, about 130 km northeast of Beijing, it is much less crowded than any other sections of Great Wall near Beijing City.

Chengde Mountain Resort, the majestic summer retreat for the emperors in Qing Dynasty, is a large complex known as a model of the perfect combination of Chinese imperial palaces and imperial gardens. Visiting Chengde Mountain Resort, you can not only enjoy the splendor of imperial buildings and gardens, but also learn about some interesting stories of the emperors of Qing Dynasty. Covering an area of 5,640,000 square meters, it is the largest one of the Four Greatest Classic Gardens in China.

Bashang Grassland covers about 200,000 square kilometers in northern Hebei and part of Inner Mongolia with an average altitude of 1500-2100 meters. There is breathtaking grassland scenery and you can indulge in the natural beauty and get a refreshed mind. It is composed of Mulan Paddock, Fengning Bashang, Guyuan Bashang, Zhangbei Bashang, etc. Among them, Mulan Paddock is the most scenic and popular part. It is one of the first choices for tourism, leisure, and vacation in northern China, especially in summer.

Outer Eight Temples is the general name of eight Tibetan Buddhist temples in the northeast of Chengde Mountain Resort in Hebei Province. They were successively built between the 52nd year of Kangxi (1713) and the 45th year of Qianlong (1780). They got this name because Chengde is located outside Beijing and the Great Wall. The eight temples include Puren Temple, Pushan Temple (no longer existing), Puning Temple, Anyuan temple, Putuo Zongcheng Temple, Shuxiang temple, Xumi Fushou Temple and Guangyuan Temple.

Putuo Zongcheng Temple, also known as "little Potala", is a Buddhist temple modeled on Potala Palace in Tibet. It was built by Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty to celebrate his 60th birthday and Empress Dowager Chongqing 's 80th birthday. It covers an area of 220,000 square meters, whose main building is located on the top of the mountain with a height of 43 meters. If you haven’t been to Lhasa, Putuo Zongcheng Temple can be an alternative spot to get a glimpse of the magnificent Potala Palace.

Puning Temple was built in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty combining Han and Tibetan characteristics. The first half of the temple is in Han style, while the second half is Tibetan style built after Samye Monastery in Tibet. Two different styles of architecture are integrated into one. The whole temple is magnificent, covering an area of 23000 square meters. The main statue of the Buddha in Puning Temple is a 27.21m Avalokitesvara with thousand hands and thousand eyes carved in wood and lacquered in gold.

Shuantashan (Two-Pagoda Peaks) Forest Park is the largest natural attraction close to Chengde's city area. The most eyes-catching attractions in the park are two giant rocky peaks with one brick pagoda built at the summit of each peak by Khitan people 1,300 years ago, which makes the whole scenic area so mysterious. Besides Two-Pagoda Peaks, you can feast your eyes on many other natural sights, like strange mountains, rushing streams, lush forests, odd-shaped rocks, religious caves, etc.

Qingchui Peak Forest Park, close to Chengde Mountain Resort and Putuo Zongcheng Temple, is a beautiful park famous for Danxia landform. In the park, there is a tall and steep stone pillar plunging into the clouds. Because the peak looks like Qingchui - a tool used for washing clothes in ancient times, Emperor Kangxi named it Qingchui Peak. More than natural scenery, Qingchui Peak Forest Park also shows its cultural significance. Two of Outer Eight Temples are located here, namely Pule Temple and Anyuan Temple.

Wulingshan Forest Park is located in the middle of Yanshan Mountains. Waitao peak, the main and the highest peak, is 2118 m above sea level. It is the best point to enjoy the sea clouds, stars, sunset and sunrise. As the imperial Fengshui forbidden area of the Qing Dynasty, it has been banned from tourists for 260 years. Therefore, it maintains a good natural ecosystem. There are mainly four scenic spots: Xianrenta scenic spot, Qinglangjie scenic spot, Longtan scenic spot and the Wulongtou scenic spot.