Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE PANCHEN LAMA IN CHENGDE
In 1786, the
PanchenLama
was summoned from Tibet by Emperor Qianlong for his birth-
day celebrations, an adroit political move designed to impress the followers of Lamaist
Buddhism. The Buddhists included a number of minority groups who were prominent
thorns in the emperor's side, such as Tibetans, Mongols, Torguts, Eleuths, Djungars and
Kalmucks. Some accounts (notably not Chinese) tell how Qianlong invited the Panchen
Lama to sit with him on the Dragon Throne, which was taken to Chengde for the summer
season. He was certainly feted with honours and bestowed with costly gifts and titles, but
the greatest impression on him and his followers must have been made by the replicas of
the Potala and of his own palace, constructed at Chengde to make him feel at home (see
Putuozongcheng Miao
)
- a munificent gesture, and one that would not have been lost on
the Lamaists. However, the Panchen Lama's visit ended questionably when he succumbed
to smallpox, or possibly poison, in Beijing and his coffin was returned to Tibet with a stu-
pendous funeral cortege.
Brief history
Originally called “Rehe”, the town was discovered by the Qing-dynasty emperor
Kangxi
at
the end of the seventeenth century, while marching his troops to the Mulan hunting range to
the north. He was attracted to the cool summer climate and the rugged landscape, and built
small lodges here from which he could indulge in a fantasy Manchu lifestyle, hunting and
hiking like his northern ancestors. The building programme expanded when it became dip-
lomatically useful to spend time north of Beijing, forging closer links with the troublesome
Mongol tribes
. Chengde was thus a thoroughly pragmatic creation, devised as a means of
defending the empire by overawing Mongol princes with splendid audiences, hunting parties
and impressive military manoeuvres.
Construction of the first palaces started in 1703. By 1711 there were 36 palaces, temples,
monasteries and pagodas set in a great walled park, its ornamental pools and islands dotted
with beautiful pavilions and linked by bridges. Craftsmen from all parts of China were invited
to work on the project; Kangxi's grandson,
Qianlong
(1736-96), added another 36 imperial
buildings during his reign, which was considered to be the heyday of Chengde.
The British
The first
BritishEmbassy
to China, under Lord Macartney, visited Qianlong's court in 1793.
Having sailed up the river to Beijing in a ship whose sails were painted with characters read-
ing “Tribute bearers from the vassal king of England”, they were somewhat disgruntled to di-
wscover that the emperor had decamped to Chengde for the summer. However, they made the
150km journey there, in impractical European carriages, where they were well received by
the emperor, though the visit was hardly a success. Macartney caused an initial stir by refus-
