Chengde
Introduction
Chengde, historically known as Jehol and Rehe, sits in Hebei province roughly 225 kilometres northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace that the Qing emperors once used as their summer residence. The local dialect is noted for being the closest to Standard Chinese.
Before you go
Before you go, it helps to understand what Chengde is: a resort city whose mountain resort and Outer Temples together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city sits roughly 260 km northeast of Beijing, so it can be reached from the capital without travelling far into the country's interior. Bear in mind the scale of the place when planning your time. Chengde proper is a modest-sized city, while the surrounding prefecture extends well beyond it, so decide in advance whether you intend to concentrate on the resort and temples or to range further out.Getting there
Chengde is most easily reached from Beijing, roughly 180 km away. High-speed G-trains run about a dozen times a day between Beijing Chaoyang station and Chengde South Station, cutting the journey to an hour; slower K trains still make the trip in around five hours. From Chengde South Station you can reach the city centre by bus. There is also a small airport in southern Chengde with occasional charter flights to and from Beijing, but for scheduled air travel you would take a coach to Beijing and connect there — coaches to Beijing depart every twenty minutes.
Frequent buses also leave Beijing for Chengde every twenty minutes, taking anywhere from two and a half to six hours depending on whether the service is direct; beware of boarding at the bus's origin in eastern Beijing, as you may spend over an hour just getting to Dongzhimen. To return to Beijing, buses depart frequently from outside Chengde's train station. Another option is an unofficial shared taxi (heiche) from Beijing, which takes two to two and a half hours with the driver and three other passengers; heiche are easy to find from Chengde to Beijing, though the reverse direction takes more asking around.
Getting around
Chengde is compact, and much of what you will want to see — the Mountain Resort and the temples just outside its walls — sits close enough together that you can cover a lot of ground on foot or by bike. You can walk from one end of the city to the other in about an hour, which often makes walking the simplest option and saves you from hunting for correct change.
- By bus: Local buses are the main public transport for visitors. There is no attendant on board, so bring correct change if you pay cash; buses also accept T-Union cards and Alipay. On-board signage has no English and little pinyin, so know your route number in advance. Bus 118 runs to the temples in the north, and bus 119 serves the temples in the east. Apps such as Amap can show you bus routes.
- By taxi: Most taxis are metered, with a small gas surcharge added on top of the meter. Short hops around town are inexpensive, crossing from one side of the city to the other costs only a little more, and a trip out to the temples from the city centre is still a modest fare. For a group, or for reaching the temples without navigating bus routes, a taxi is convenient and reasonably priced.
Where to stay
The source material does not include any information on where to stay in Chengde, so there is nothing to describe here.Food & drink
Chengde has its own snacks, and the most famous is Donkey-Rolling Roll: a long roll with stuffing wrapped in yellow rice, served on a bed of yellow beans. The name comes from the way the roll is turned on the beans, like a donkey rolling on the ground. It has been found in Chengde for more than 200 years. Restaurants in the city generally serve dishes in large and small plates, so you can order according to your appetite.
- You noodle: a coarse grain noodle, slightly dark in colour. The local You noodle wozi dough is rolled out thin, shaped, then braised in a pot. You dip it in sauce when eating; it feels smooth and jelly-like in your mouth. You noodle jiaozi is a kind of ravioli stuffed with pickled vegetables.
- Pubang deer meat clusters and cooked deer meat clusters: tasty and well worth trying.
- Tangy scented baked corn: sold from mini-booths along Chengde Street in the evening.
- Daqinghua Dumpling Restaurant: a favourite among foreigners and Chinese alike, with three locations in the city (Train Station, Summer Mountain Resort, and City Center, on the small street behind the two-story KFC). The menu varies slightly between branches; the City Center location has an excellent menu in English and Chinese with colour photos. Try the dumplings, which are unique to this restaurant.
In the street south of the Summer Resort you will find many shops featuring local specialities which cater to tourists. During the summer, a few beer gardens open next to Wulie River on Wulie Lu, south of the Summer Mountain Resort, where BBQ, ice cream and other drinks are also available.
What to see and do
The Summer Mountain Resort is the city's centrepiece: a complex of gardens and palaces built by the Qing Dynasty as a summer retreat from the heat of the lowlands, and now counted among China's Four Great Gardens. Beyond it, Chengde's temples reward a day or two of wandering. Putuo Zongcheng Temple, known locally as Xiao Budala, is the largest temple in the city and a miniature replica of Lhasa's Potala Palace; your admission there also covers the neighbouring Temple of Sumeru, Happiness, and Longevity. Puning Temple houses a towering wooden statue of Guanyin, the tallest of its kind in the world. Further out, the Double Pagoda Peaks at Shuangta Shan carry ancient pagodas whose construction remains a mystery, perched atop two steep mountains, and Hammer Rock rises above Pule Temple, reachable by a hike or a ski lift, with Toad Rock nearby. The Chengde Museum on Puning Road is free, but you must book ahead by WeChat or phone, and it closes on Mondays. In winter, ice skating rinks open on the Wulie River, with skate rental and snacks available. On selected clear nights, Qingchui Peak National Forest Park hosts organised stargazing sessions with telescopes and guides, away from the city's light pollution; bookings are essential. If you want to settle in for longer, a local school offers Chinese immersion classes with homestay families.When to go
Chengde has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate, with cold, dry, windy winters and hot, humid summers, and rapid transitions in between. Because the city sits at a higher elevation than Beijing, it stays cooler than the capital throughout the year.
- Winter: Moderately long, cold and windy but dry, with little precipitation and a stark, chilly landscape. January temperatures average well below freezing.
- Spring: Warming is rapid, but dust storms can blow in from the Mongolian steppe, and conditions shift quickly from cold to mild. The dry, windy weather can be gritty at times.
- Summer: Hot and humid, with more than two-thirds of the year's precipitation falling in these three months. July is the cloudiest month, rain is frequent, and humidity is high.
- Autumn: Cooling is quick after summer. October is the sunniest month, making it a bright, crisp time to visit before winter sets in.
Three days in Chengde
Day one: Arrive in Chengde, known historically as Jehol or Rehe, in Hebei province. It is easily reached from Beijing: frequent trains run from Beijing Chaoyang and Chengde South Station, and buses leave from Dongzhimen. From Chengde South Station, local transport and apps such as Amap and Alipay make getting around straightforward. Settle in, then take a short walk to orient yourself before an early dinner. For your first meal, try local specialties such as donkey burgers or rolling rolls at one of the restaurants in town.
Day two: Spend the day at the Mountain Resort, the Qing imperial retreat that is the heart of the city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Allow several hours to wander its lakes, plains and wooded hills. In the evening, return to the city for dinner; pubang is a good choice if you want a hearty local dish.
Day three: Visit the Outer Temples, the grand religious buildings that surround the Mountain Resort. Most are within easy reach of the resort area, so you can see several in a morning. If time allows before your departure, stop for another local meal. Buses and taxis connect the sights with Chengde South Station for your return to Beijing.