Mountain Resort
Encyclopedia
The Mountain Resort in Chengde ' onMouseout='HidePop("22489")' href="/topics/Pinyin">pinyin
: Bìshǔ Shānzhuāng; literally: Mountain Villa for Avoiding the Heat; Manchu
:
Halhūn be jailara gurung) or Ligong (Chinese: 离宫; pinyin: Lígōng), is a large complex of imperial palaces and gardens situated in the city of Chengde
in Hebei Province, China
. Because of its vast and rich collection of Chinese landscape
s and architecture
, the Mountain Resort in many ways is a culmination of all the variety of gardens, pagodas, temples and palaces from various regions of China.
Built between 1703 and 1792 during the Qing Dynasty
, 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.
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. Emperor Jiaqing and Xianfeng both died while staying at Chengde in 1820 and 1861 respectively.
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 the Green Lotus Island, "Tower of Mist and Rain," (Chinese: 烟雨楼; pinyin: Yānyǔ Lóu) is modeled upon a tower in Nanhu Lake at Jiaxing
in Zhejiang
Province.
The resort's plain area also possesses characteristics of the scenery of the Mongolian grasslands
. Forested mountains and valleys are dotted with various buildings. This includes a 70 m tall stone Chinese pagoda
, one of the tallest in China, 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 glaze
d 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 Site
s. On May 8, 2007, the Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde was approved by the China National Tourism Administration as one of the "5A-class tourist attractions" which represents the highest standards for China's tourist attractions.
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Bìshǔ Shānzhuāng; literally: Mountain Villa for Avoiding the Heat; Manchu
Manchu language
Manchu is a Tungusic endangered language spoken in Northeast China; it used to be the language of the Manchu, though now most Manchus speak Mandarin Chinese and there are fewer than 70 native speakers of Manchu out of a total of nearly 10 million ethnic Manchus...
:
Halhūn be jailara gurung) or Ligong (Chinese: 离宫; pinyin: Lígōng), is a large complex of imperial palaces and gardens situated in the city of ChengdeChengde
Chengde , previously known as Jehol or Re He , is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China, situated northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by the Qing emperors as summer residence...
in Hebei Province, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Because of its vast and rich collection of Chinese landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
s and architecture
Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details...
, the Mountain Resort in many ways is a culmination of all the variety of gardens, pagodas, temples and palaces from various regions of China.
History
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, 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.
The Kangxi, Qianlong and Jiaqing Emperors often spent several months a year here to escape the summer heat in the capital city of Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and the palace zone in the southern part of the resort was therefore designed to resemble the Forbidden City
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum...
in Beijing. It consists of two parts: a court in front, where the emperor received high officials, nobles of various minority
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
nationalities, and foreign envoys; and bed chambers in the rear, which were the imperial family's living quarters. Emperor Jiaqing and Xianfeng both died while staying at Chengde in 1820 and 1861 respectively.
Scenic spots
The Mountain Resort is most famous for the 72 scenic spots which were named 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 the Green Lotus Island, "Tower of Mist and Rain," (Chinese: 烟雨楼; pinyin: Yānyǔ Lóu) is modeled upon a tower in Nanhu Lake at Jiaxing
Jiaxing
Jiaxing is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province of Eastern China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the province of Jiangsu to the north....
in Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
Province.
The resort's plain area also possesses characteristics of the scenery of the Mongolian grasslands
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
. Forested mountains and valleys are dotted with various buildings. This includes a 70 m tall stone Chinese pagoda
Chinese pagoda
Chinese Pagodas are a traditional part of Chinese architecture. In addition to religious use, since ancient times Chinese pagodas have been praised for the spectacular views which they offer, and many famous poems in Chinese history attest to the joy of scaling pagodas.-History:The pagoda is...
, one of the tallest in China, built in the year 1751 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796...
. The pagoda is shaped with an octagonal base, while the pagoda's nine stories are decorated with colorful glaze
Ceramic glaze
Glaze is a layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color, decorate, strengthen or waterproof it.-Use:...
d tiles and the steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
is crowned with a gilded
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
round spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
.
In December 1994 the Mountain Resort was listed by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
on its list of World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
s. On May 8, 2007, the Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde was approved by the China National Tourism Administration as one of the "5A-class tourist attractions" which represents the highest standards for China's tourist attractions.
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.