A Weekend Trip to Chengde, Hebei | Fun, but Avoid These Pitfalls
Chengde is a city with historical significance and beautiful scenery.
It's just that due to a lack of comprehensive travel planning, I stepped into some pitfalls during this trip, which I'm writing down here for everyone's reference.
🚴Transportation
Beijing Chaoyang to Chengde takes about 1 hour.
🏨Accommodation
Chengde Mountain Resort Hotel has the advantage of location and sentiment, with a plaque provided by Pu Jie.
However, if you're looking for a better accommodation experience, I really wouldn't recommend it.
🥇Attractions
1⃣️Imperial Summer Resort
A must-visit attraction, I'll leave a little mystery here.
Pay attention to the plaque of the 'Imperial Summer Resort'; there's a 'miswritten character'.
First, visit the palace area where the emperor handled affairs and lived.
After leaving the palace area, you can buy a transportation ticket, which comes in three types:
Mountain area 60, Mountain + Lake area 120, Mountain + Lake + Plain area 150.
I'm the type who doesn't want to get too tired when going out, so I bought the 150 ticket.
👉The mountain area is a must-buy because it's impossible to walk that far.
There are three stops where you can freely get on and off.
The first stop overlooks the cityscape of Chengde.
The second stop overlooks the full view of the Little Potala Palace (very photogenic).
The third stop is a courtyard where the emperor enjoyed the Mid-Autumn moon, and there's also a 'cold palace'.
There's a place called 'Biao Xia' here, where the sunset glow should be beautiful, but I didn't see it due to the wrong timing.
👉The lake area boat ticket experience is not good; the boat is propelled by human power with bamboo poles, which is very slow.
It's a one-way ticket, and you have to walk back from the Misty Rain Tower; the scenery on both sides is also average.
By the way, the Misty Rain Tower is also known as 'Shu Fang Zhai', a familiar feeling.
👉The plain area can be skipped if you're short on time. You get on the bus near the Misty Rain Tower.
The first stop is the horse selection field and the courtyard where the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries is stored.
The second stop passes through a Mongolian yurt to reach the Stupa.
The third stop is the Rehe Spring.
Additionally, I ate watermelon in the Imperial Melon Garden and had 'my' afternoon tea at Chun Hao Xuan. It was delicious, but there were too many bees, which made for a poor experience!
2⃣️Little Potala Palace
I paid 100 yuan for a guide.
I saw the kneeling elephant, the standing Guanyin, and the golden top bathed in the sunset glow.
I learned about the meaning of prayer flags, climbed a few hundred steps, and felt pretty good.
3⃣️Puning Temple
Also in the Tibetan architectural style, I saw the over 20-meter-tall Thousand-Handed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin.
If you're going to offer incense, it's best to hire a guide who will mention some precautions.
4⃣️Chengde Museum
A surprisingly good museum, with an interesting architectural style and very nice exhibition halls.
It talks about the Imperial Summer Resort, Chengde's history, Manchu-Mongol relations, and Tibetan Buddhism. A detailed visit takes about 2-3 hours.
All the above attractions are close by, so I recommend eating and staying nearby.
🐎Performance
The Prosperous Dynasty Kangxi Ceremony was quite good, with the opening horse running being very impressive.
But my feeling is that the content is rather superficial, although the scene utilization is very good.
🍚Dining
👉Prince's Banquet - Long queue, but the big fish head is quite tasty.
👉New Qianlong - Noisy environment, the sliced meat is good, the deer meat is average.
👉Xiang He Xing scissor-cut noodles, had it while watching the Prosperous Dynasty, the noodles are good, but there's a long queue.
🌲Finally, the beauty of Chengde lies in its integration, in its adaptability to local conditions and inclusiveness, and in being surrounded by the beauty of green mountains and clear waters. I recommend a visit.