Things To Do in Chengde

1. Bishu Shanzhuang (Mountain Resort for Escaping the Heat)

While the "Winter Palace," as Beijing's Forbidden City was sometimes called, was the creation of the indigenous Ming dynasty, the summer palace...

Type:
• Landmarks

2. Xumifushou Miao (Temple of Happiness and Longevity at Mount Sumeru)

Partly inspired by Tashilhunpo in Tibet, this temple was constructed to make the Panchen Lama, number two in the Tibetan religious hierarchy, feel...

3. Pule Si (Temple of Universal Joy)

Tibetan advisors were employed in the design of this temple, built to receive annual tributary visits from defeated Mongol tribes. But the most...

4. Qingchui Feng (Hammer Rock)

Bus no. 10's terminus is actually the cableway to Hammer Rock. The characters specifically mean a kind of hammer for striking a Buddhist musical...

5. Anyuan Miao (Temple of Distant Peace)

Built in 1764, this is another example of architectural diplomacy, built in imitation of a temple (now long-vanished) in Yining on China's remote...

6. Putuozongcheng Zhi Miao (Potala Temple)

Five minutes' walk west, the Potala Temple, its tapering windows and slab-sided walls obviously influenced by Tibet, is in no way "a copy of the...

7. Puyou Si

Next door to Puning Si, this temple was closed for renovations when I last visited. The point of entering is to see the remainder of a collection...

8. Puning Si (Temple of Universal Peace)

The main Hall of Mahayana is impressive -- story upon story of red walls and yellow roofs, topped with a gold knob surrounded by four mini-pagoda-like...