Chengde Mountain Resort

Information about Chengde Mountain Resort

Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Enlarge picture
Mountain Resort, Chengde
State Party China
TypeCultural
Criteriaii, iv
Reference703
RegionAsia-Pacific
Inscription History
Inscription1994  (18th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
† Region as classified by UNESCO.
The Mountain Resort in Chengde (Chinese: 避暑山庄; pinyin: Bìshǔ Shānzhuāng; literally: Mountain Resort for Avoiding the Heat; Manchu: Halhūn be jailara gurung) or Ligong (Chinese: 离宫; pinyin: Lígōng, the Qing Dynasty's summer palace) 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 km², 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.

Scenic spots

Enlarge picture
Mountain Resort, Chengde
The Mountain Resort is most famous for the 72 scenic spots which was named fascinatedly by the Kangxi and Qianlong Emperors. Many of the scenic spots around the resort's lake area were copied from famous landscaped gardens in Southern China. For instance, the main building on Green Lotus Island, "Tower of Mist and Rain," (Chinese: 烟雨楼; pinyin: Yānyǔ Lóu) is a copy of a tower in Nanhu Lake at Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province. The resort's plain area possesses characteristics of the scenery of the Mongolian grasslands. Forested mountains and valleys are dotted with various buildings. This includes the Sarira Pagoda, a 70 m tall stone Chinese pagoda built in the year 1751 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. The pagoda is shaped with an octagonal base, while the pagoda's nine stories are decorated with colorful glazed tiles and the steeple is crowned with a gilded round spire.

In December 1994 the Mountain Resort was listed by UNESCO on its list of World Heritage Sites.

See also

Further reading

  • Hevia, James Louis. "World Heritage, National Culture, and the Restoration of Chengde." positions: east asia cultures critique 9, no. 1 (2001): 219-43.
 •  • [ e]
World Heritage Sites in China
Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom Classical Gardens of Suzhou Dazu Rock Carvings Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace The Great Wall Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area Kaiping Diaolou and Villages Old Town of Lijiang Longmen Grottoes Lushan National Park Historic Centre of Macau Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor Mogao Caves Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area Mount Huangshan Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan Irrigation System Mount Tai (Taishan) Mount Wuyi Chengde Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian Ancient City of Ping Yao Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries South China Karst Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and Kong Family Mansion, Qufu Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas Villages in Southern Anhui - Xidi and Hongcun Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area Yin Xu Yungang Grottoes


Coordinates:
承?
Chéngdé

Location of Chengde in Hebei Province
Location of Hebei Province in China
Coordinates:
Country People's Republic of China
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A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO
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State Party Natural WHS Cultural WHS Mixed WHS Total WHS Zone
 Afghanistan 2 2 Asia-Pacific
 Albania 2 2 Europe & North America
 Algeria 6 1 7 Arab States
 Andorra 1 1 Europe & North America
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Anthem
March of the Volunteers (义勇军进行曲)
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This is a list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia, Australia and the Pacific (Australasia).

Afghanistan

  • Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamyan Valley
  • Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam

Armenia


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Chinese or the Sinitic language(s) (汉语/漢語, Pinyin: Hànyǔ; 华语/華語, Huáyǔ; or 中文, Zhōngwén) can be considered a language or language family.
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Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音
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Manchu is a Tungusic language spoken in Northeast China; it used to be the language of the Manchu, though now most Manchus speak Chinese and there are fewer than 70 native speakers of Manchu out of a total of nearly 10 million ethnic Manchus.
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History of China
ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
Xia Dynasty 2070–1600 BCE
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BCE
Zhou Dynasty
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承?
Chéngdé

Location of Chengde in Hebei Province
Location of Hebei Province in China
Coordinates:
Country People's Republic of China
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河北省
Héběi Shěng
Abbreviations: ?  (Pinyin: Jì)

Origin of name 河 hé - (Yellow) River
北 běi - north
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China (Traditional Chinese:
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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
850s  860s  870s  - 880s -  890s  900s  910s
885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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17th century - 18th century - 19th century
1760s  1770s  1780s  - 1790s -  1800s  1810s  1820s
1789 1790 1791 - 1792 - 1793 1794 1795

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
  • 1,000,000 m²
  • 100 ha (hectare)
Conversely:
  • 1 m² = 0.

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China (Traditional Chinese:
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Kangxi Emperor (Chinese: 康熙; Pinyin: Kāngxī; Wade-Giles: K'ang-hsi; May 4, 1654 – December 20, 1722) was an Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty,[1]
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Qianlong Emperor (born Hongli, September 25, 1711 – February 7, 1799) was the fifth emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China.
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Jiaqing Emperor (November 13, 1760 – September 2, 1820) was the sixth emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty, and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1796 to 1820.
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Běijīng
北京
The Temple of Heaven, a symbol of Beijing
Location within China
Coordinates:
Country People's Republic of China
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State Party China
Type Cultural
Criteria i, ii, iii, iv
Reference 439
Region Asia-Pacific

Inscription History
Inscription 1987  (11th Session)
Extensions 2004
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minority or subordinate group is a sociological group that does not constitute a politically dominant plurality of the total population of a given society. A sociological minority is not necessarily a numerical minority — it may include any group that is disadvantaged
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Celsius is, or relates to, the Celsius temperature scale (previously known as the centigrade scale). The degree Celsius (symbol: °C) can refer to a specific temperature on the Celsius scale
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Jiaxing (Simplified Chinese: 嘉兴; Traditional Chinese: 嘉興; Pinyin: Jiāxīng
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浙江省
Zhèjiāng Shěng
Abbreviations: ?  (Pinyin: Zhè)

Origin of name Old name of Qiantang River Administration type Province

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Anthem
"Монгол улсын төрийн дуулал"
National anthem of Mongolia
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Qianlong Emperor (born Hongli, September 25, 1711 – February 7, 1799) was the fifth emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China.
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In geometry, an octagon is a polygon that has eight sides. Regular octagon is represented by Schläfli symbol .

Regular octagons



A regular octagon is an octagon whose sides are all the same length and whose internal angles are all the same size.
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Glaze or glazing is a thin shiny coating, or the act of applying the coating; it may refer to:
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  • Steeple (architecture), a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire
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