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Chengde
Things to Do in Chengde
Imperial Summer Palace of Mountain Resort
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Imperial Summer Palace of Mountain Resort

See all things to do
See all things to do
Imperial Summer Palace of Mountain Resort
4.5
428
#1 of 39 things to do in Chengde
Historic Sites • Castles
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8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
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About
China's largest imperial garden and the former summer capital of the Qing dynasty is surrounded by lakes, forest and mountains.
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The area
Address
Best nearby
Restaurants
5 within 3 miles
Giraffe Cafe
11
0.6 miCafe
U.B.C. Coffee
1
0.7 miCafe
Xinqianlong Restaurant (Dijingyuan)
7
1 miChinese
Mu Hei Restaurant
0.6 miFast Food
Hao XinQing Coffee
1.4 miCafe
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Attractions
38 within 6 miles
Emperor Guan Temple Resort
3
0.2 miAncient Ruins
Cloud in Chengde
2
0.3 miPoints of Interest & Landmarks
Chengde Shopping Center
2
0.5 miShopping Malls
Chenghuang Temple
3
0.5 miReligious Sites
Chengde Stadium
2
0.5 miArenas & Stadiums
Museum of Summer Resort
56
0.8 miSpeciality Museums
Luohan Mountain
1
1 miMountains
Chengde Qingchui Mountain (Hammer Rock)
33
1.3 miMountains
Potala Palace (Putuo Zongcheng Temple)
86
1.8 miHistoric Sites • Religious Sites
Temple of Universal Happiness (Pule si)
24
1.6 miHistoric Sites • Religious Sites
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
4.5
428 reviews
Excellent
197
Very good
160
Average
59
Poor
8
Terrible
3
An
2 contributions
This place is well worth visiting.
Jul 2020
The transportation is very convenient because the high-speed railway from Beijing to Chengde has been opened to traffic. After exiting the high-speed railway station, follow the signs to the bus stop which is nearer than taxi-rank. It takes about 40 minutes to get to the Fire Temple, and 3 minutes to walk to the Lizheng Gate, the main gate of the Summer Resort.
The Summer Resort Museum, with its rich historical and cultural value, is highly recommended for those who are interested in history. The museum's hanging screen displays are all national treasures. The watch museum is no inferior to the Palace Museum in Beijing. The museum with a large number of photos of the Empress Dowager Cixi is special.
Not native of Chengde can apply for an annual card to the resort with 180 yuan, which can be used for unlimited times within 365 days.
Written June 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
nationalb
Baltimore, MD5 contributions
Great for All Types of Travelers from Families to Outdoorsy/Hiking Types
Chendge Mountain Resort rewards the traveler who has come from Beijing, perhaps by crowded bus, to visit its grounds. The resort is in the mountains, so has temples located up in the hills. You can climb to these or take a short tour by a cart you can buy a ticket for by the main entrance. In the hills, you will see lots of deer and birds. These were the old hunting grounds for the emperor to do his hunting and you can clearly see the appeal of this land. The other part of the resort can be viewed leisurely on foot and includes a lake and the palaces. There are plenty of historical markings in Chinese and English. There were people playing traditional instruments, which added to the experience of the palace. If you like hiking, you can climb to pagodas on hilltops for stunning views of Chengde city.
You could easily visit this place all day long and still have more to view.

The town itself is lively and great to walk around in the day and evening. There are outlying temples that you can hire a taxi cheaply to visit. There is also sledge hammer peak and other outdoor attractions. Keep in mind that very little english is spoken here. When I went, I ran into three girls who were teaching English there but not any other Westerners. The people were friendly and helpful and really enjoyed taking my picture.
Written December 1, 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
JFChristin
Singapore, Singapore80 contributions
A landmark of Chinese history
Apr 2015 • Couples
It's an important place to measure the achievement and life of the Qing density emperors; we did it in April, advantage being that it is low season, but not as magnificent as it should be when the gardens are green...
Written April 5, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Annsl
Malaysia25 contributions
Under renovation
Apr 2013
We went there yesterday. The whole place is still under renovation- such a disappointment! We had to walk through construction areas and almost all the buildings were covered wt mesh and scaffoldings so there's not much to see except the beautiful lakes. So wait till the renovations are done before you pay RMB120 to enter the place!
Written April 15, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
bamboo401
Beijing31 contributions
With young children
Absolutely beautiful and absolutely huge! Lots of deer roaming around too...

Plenty of vendors selling drinks, so no need to bring huge stocks of water.

Make sure to take strollers for children aged 5 and under - our 4 year old doesn't use a stroller anymore, but we were really glad we borrowed one for this trip - and really needed it!

From the south entrance, if you head east, there is a children's fairground complete with carousel, bumper cars etc. Some of these rides are pretty old, so use your judgement.

At the car park towards the middle of the compound there is a Yurt Hotel - bit of a tourist trap but interesting nevertheless. Had lunch there and the food was actually pretty good - especially the mutton and onion with lots of spices and the "bing" oil and wheat pancakes.

Lodging in yurts is very cheap but quite basic, probably fun with slightly older kids.

N.B. We found the kids had had enough after 4 hours, though we would have happily stayed longer. Also, the 8 Outer Temples are not accessible with strollers, so unless you've got backpacks for little ones, you'll have to give that a miss too.

The rest of Chengde is nothing special however....
Written June 22, 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Della G
Coquitlam, Canada808 contributions
Imperial Summer Palace of Mountain Resort
Mar 2018 • Family
This summer palace hunting resort of the Qing emperor is probably the highlight of the city of Chende. We visited this massive area in mid spring and some of the lakes were still frozen. It must be quite a retreat for the imperial family to get away from the capital city before the summer heat began. Not really that ancient as it was built during the 1700's over a period of eighty plus years. This summer retreat was home to three Qing emperors over the course of their reign. It has been designated as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. The complex is very much a duplicate of the Forbidden City in Beijing except it is a lot smaller. The grounds have many designated scenic areas with landscape gardens, lakes and pavilions replicated from different scenic spots scattered around China. A very idyllic setting. Not inundated with tourists.
Very hard to explore all areas in half a day. Very much like the Summer palace in Beijing. Gets very tiring after three hours.
Written June 14, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
yummymummy71
Melbourne27 contributions
Stunningly Beautiful
Dec 2014
Be prepared - it gets cold up there, but a beautiful place to walk around on a sunny day especially after experiencing the chaos and grime of Beijing
Written February 26, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
simks
Singapore, Singapore26 contributions
Lovely park during late autumn
Nov 2014 • Friends
Was here during late autumn and it was a lovely walk. Might have been even better earlier in autumn before most of the leaves have shed. Especially like the lakes providing nice reflections of the beautiful autumn colors and houses/pavillions/etc. The park is huge so may take a long time to walk. Alternatively, you can pay to take the electric cart to ferry you to various areas of the park.
Written January 22, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Wunderlust2K10
Toronto, Canada78 contributions
Vast park with lots of nature
Sep 2011 • Couples
The resort grounds are huge. You can spend hours just walking and not cover half of it. Inside, there are 36 marked attractions (mostly photo ops), There are trams moving people around if you get tired.

Few tips...
1) If you have a fear of fast moving driving along narrow roads, avoid the mountain top tour.
2) Make sure you bring some water with you. There were a few water stalls, however there are sections where there are no stalls to buy at. Food is a good idea as well.
Written September 29, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
GoCardinal
Washington DC24 contributions
Not worth going for the Mountain Villa but Chengde is a very interesting city
May 2011
We went to see the Mountain Villa and also to see what a small/mid-size city is like in China. The Mountain Villa was pretty boring...just a big open park with ponds etc and the occasional imperial site...but nothing compared to the Forbidden City and Summer Palace in Beijing. Some of the outer temples are worth seeing though. We rented bikes and hit those when we got sick of the Mountain Villa.

Chengde is growing so fast, it's interesting to see. When you hear about how fast China is growing, this is a great depiction so worth seeing for that reason. It's also just a nice city, very walkable, right next to a river, random dancing and celebrations in the street.

The city does not cater to international tourists (yet) so if you don't speak Mandarin (we don't), it can be an issue. Not much English was spoken but we got by with pointing and gesturing because people were generally helpful and nice about it. Many people also seemed amused by our presence (we're both blonde) and took quite a few pictures of us, which was fun.
Written June 3, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Imperial Summer Palace of Mountain Resort (Chengde) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Frequently Asked Questions about Imperial Summer Palace of Mountain Resort
Imperial Summer Palace of Mountain Resort is open:
  • Sun - Sat 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Buy tickets in advance on Tripadvisor. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the start date of your tour for a full refund.
We recommend booking Imperial Summer Palace of Mountain Resort tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 17 Imperial Summer Palace of Mountain Resort tours on Tripadvisor