Mountain Resort in Chengde (Chinese: 承德避暑山莊) is a large complex of imperial palaces and gardens situated in the city of Chengde (承德) Province in Hebei (河北), China. Built between 1703 and 1792 during the Qing (清)dynasty, the Mountain Resort took 89 years to complete.
Mountain Resort covers a total area of 5.6 square kilometers, almost half of Chengde's urban area.
Mountain Resort is one of China's four famous gardens and a popular tourist attraction. In 1994, Mountain Resort was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Mountain Resort consists of two main areas, the palace area and the garden area, while the garden blends harmoniously into the natural landscape of lakes, pastureland and forests.
Mountain Resort is famous for the 72 scenic spots which were named by the Kangxi (康熙) and Qianlong (乾隆) emperors. Many of the scenic spots around the resort's lake area were copied from famous landscaped gardens in southern China.
Mountain Resort is the biggest royal garden in China, if you do not have much time, Choumeizai suggests you spend more time in the lake area, where the sceneries are more concentrated there.
