Insider View

Chengde is famous for the Mountain Resort and the Outer Eight Temples, especially the Little Potala Palace and Puning Temple. The most popular way to visit Chengde is from Beijing by car. On the way, travelers can visit The Great Wall of Jinshanling, which is considered by most local people the most beautiful and less tourist section of the Great Wall near Beijing. 

In summer, you can take a 2-days-1-night trip to Saihanba National Forest Park to enjoy the stunning view of Mongolian grassland and the nomad hospitality. 

On the way back to Beijing, you can take another high way to visit the Eastern Qing Tombs or visit the Dule Temple, one of the 3 oldest surviving buildings of the Liao Dynasty.

For luxury travelers, there are no luxury hotels in Chengde. Our recommendation is Imperial Mountain Resort, which used to be a part of the Mountain Resort, very similar to Aman Summer Palace.
— Your China Specialists
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Basic Information

Chengde, formerly known as Jehol and Rehe, is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, situated northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden, and palace formerly used by the Qing emperors as their summer residence.

In 1703, Chengde was chosen by the Kangxi Emperor as the location for his summer residence. Constructed throughout the eighteenth century, the Mountain Resort was used by both the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. The site is currently a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since the seat of government followed the emperor, Chengde was a political center of the Chinese empire during these times.

The city of Jehol—an early romanization of Rehe via the French transcription of the northern suffix ér as eu—reached its height under the Qianlong Emperor 1735-1796 (died 1799). The great Putuo Zongcheng Temple, loosely based on the Potala in Lhasa, was completed after just four years of work in 1771. It was heavily decorated with gold and the emperor worshipped in the Golden Pavilion. In the temple itself was a bronze-gilt statue of Tsongkhapa, the Reformer of the Gelugpa sect.

Under the Republic of China, Chengde was the capital of Rehe province. From 1933 to 1945, the city was under Japanese control as a part of the Manchurian puppet state known as Manchukuo. After World War II, the Kuomintang regained jurisdiction. In 1948, the People’s Liberation Army took control of Chengde. It would remain a part of Rehe until 1955 when the province was abolished, and the city was incorporated into Hebei.

The city is home to large populations of ethnic minorities, Mongol and Manchu in particular.

Source: Wikipedia