 The
Mountain Resort in Chengde situated in the city of
Chengde in Hebei Province, China, is the world's largest
existing imperial garden.
Built between 1703 and 1792, the Mountain Resort took 89
years to complete. It covers a total area of 5.6 kmē,
almost half of Chengde's urban area. It is a vast
complex of palaces and administrative and ceremonial
buildings. Temples of various architectural styles and
imperial gardens blend harmoniously into a landscape of
lakes, pastureland and forests. In addition to its
aesthetic interest, the Mountain Resort is a rare
historic vestige of the final development of feudal
society in China.
The Kangxi, Qianlong and Jiaqing Emperors often spent
several months a year here to escape the summer heat in
the capital city of Beijing and the palace zone in the
southern part of the resort was therefore designed to
resemble the Forbidden City in Beijing. It consists of
two parts: a court in front, where the emperor received
high officials, nobles of various minority
nationalities, and foreign envoys; and bed chambers in
the rear, which were the imperial family's living
quarters.
True to its name, the Mountain Resort is known to be at
least 3 degrees Celsius cooler than Chengde City itself. |
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