Chengde
Mountain Resort and Surrounding Temples are located in
Chengde, Hebei province. It covers an area of 6,080,000
square meters. The original floor space was
160,000 square meters. Currently, there are ancient
buildings of 80,000 square meters and many ruins of ancient
buildings. The construction began in 1703, and completed 89
years later (1792). It is the largest existing imperial
garden in China. From the reign of Emperor Kangxi to the
reign of Emperor Xianfeng, all the emperors would spend up
to six months each year in the resort to take vacations,
conduct state affairs and to receive high-ranking officials,
foreign envoys and nobles of minority nationalities. The
resort consists of four parts: palace area, lake area, plain
area and mountain area. The buildings stand by groups.
Most of the buildings are austere and
unadorned, using only gray bricks and tiles. The resort
possessed the characters of Chinese finest gardens. The
buildings were constructed on the slopes of mountains or
beside the streams. In order to strengthen the unification
of all the nationalities, Emperor Kangxi and Emperor
Qianlong ordered to build the surrounding temples, which
combined the architectural beauties of Tibetan Buddhism and
Han Buddhism. At present, it has become a famous scenic spot
in China.