Seven Castles

Imperial Summer Villa of Chengde

                                      

September 23, 2006

 

Situated in the north of the city of Chengde in Hebei Province and 230 kilometers from Beijing and dubbed the "Mountain Villa for Escaping the Heat", the Imperial Summer Villa of Chengde, also called the Palace of Chengde or the Summer Palace of Rehe (warm river), is the largest imperial garden in the country. Covering some 560 hectares, it is about twice the size of the Summer Palace in Beijing and eight times as large as Beihai Park that used to be the Winter Palace of the emperor. This resort, which constitutes more than half of the city of Chengde, is one of the three well-preserved magnificent ancient architectural complexes in China, the other two being the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Confucian Temple in Qufu, Shandong Province.

 

Construction started in 1703 and lasted 89 years. Emperor Kangxi (reigning from 1662 to 1722), who initiated the project, meant to make it more than an ordinary temporary dwelling place like so many others throughout the country. He wanted to make it a palace for extended residency or as a second political center. He inspected many places and decided after careful comparison that Chengde was an ideal location. He once described it as "an expansive area with hot springs and rich pastures" which combined the sophistication of southern China and the rustic charm of his native land. In terms of climate, it is an ideal summer resort with an average temperature of 24.5^oC in the hottest part of July. Kangxi, Qianlong and a succession of other emperors after them used to spend five to six months there each year, administering affairs of the state and receiving princes of the minority nations or foreign envoys. Hence the resort was more than just a summer retreat but a second palace away from the capital.

 

The resort comprises two parts, the palace area and the scenic area. Ringed by a ten-kilometer-long wall that rises and falls with the surrounding hills, there are in all more than 110 architectural structures (some of them with the emperors' inscriptions) within the wall, including halls, offices, studios, studies, towers and buildings for landscaping purposes. At the foot of the hills to the northeast, outside the wall, are a number of magnificent temples dubbed collectively the Eight Temples Outside the Wall, with architectural features showing the best aesthetic influence of the architectural styles of various national minorities. In the palace area are the main palace halls, Hall of Pines and Cranes, Hall of Pine Valleys, Eastern Hall, etc. The scenic area is made up of lakes, rolling fields and hillsides. Thirty-six of the sights in the villa were named and inscribed by Emperor Kangxi, all in four-character phrases. Another 36 were named and inscribed by Emperor Qianlong who, to show deference to his grandfather Kangxi, used three-character phrases only.

 

The resort became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1994.

 

【作者: zhangliping】【访问统计:】【2006年09月23日 星期六 11:00】【 加入博采】【打印】