Shuangqiao District 双桥区

History

Work on the Mountain Resort began in 1703 under the Kangxi Emperor, and the main outline stood by 1708; building went on through the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns until 1792. Qing emperors usually arrived in the fourth or fifth lunar month and returned to Beijing in the ninth or tenth, so the resort became a second political centre outside Beijing. Officials, troops and guards who followed the court camped outside the walls, markets, inns and wine houses grew up around them, and a town took shape. The Rehe sub-prefecture (热河厅) was created in 1723, Chengde Prefecture (承德州) in 1733 and Chengde Superior Prefecture (承德府) in 1778.

What to see

The Mountain Resort, also called the Rehe Travelling Palace (热河行宫), occupies a long valley on the west bank of the Wulie River (武烈河) and covers 5.64 million square metres inside a 10-kilometre wall. In the palace area, the Danbo Jingcheng Hall (澹泊敬诚殿), where emperors held court, is built of nanmu wood without painted decoration. The Yanbo Zhishuang Hall (烟波致爽殿) was the imperial bedchamber, where the Jiaqing Emperor died in 1820 and the Xianfeng Emperor in 1861. North of the palaces come a lake area modelled on gardens south of the Yangtze and a plain with a riding meadow and the Wanshu Garden (万树园) woodland; to their west and north, hills take up three-quarters of the grounds.

Puning Temple (普宁寺), finished in 1759, is also called the Big Buddha Temple for its gilded, lacquered wooden statue of the Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Guanyin. Putuo Zongcheng Temple (普陀宗乘之庙), built from 1767 to 1771 for Qianlong's 60th birthday and his mother's 80th, is modelled on the Potala Palace in Lhasa and is the largest of the outer temples. Pule Temple (普乐寺), with its round, double-eaved Xuguang Pavilion (旭光阁), stands on the east bank of the Wulie River with Qingchui Peak (磬锤峰) behind it.

Highlights

• Chengde Mountain Resort 承德避暑山庄: Qing summer palace begun in 1703, covering 5.64 million m² on the west bank of the Wulie River.
• Puning Temple 普宁寺: Completed 1759; called the Big Buddha Temple for its wooden Thousand-Armed Guanyin.
• Putuo Zongcheng Temple 普陀宗乘之庙: Built 1767-1771 on the model of the Potala Palace; the largest of the outer temples.
• Qingchui Peak 磬锤峰: Rises behind Pule Temple east of the Wulie River.