Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Badaling Train Station is a short walk down from the west car park. Morning trains
(hard/soft seat ¥7/11, 75 minutes)
leave from Beijing North Station
( Beijing Beizhan;
Click here
),
which is beside Xizhimen subway station, at the following times: 6.12am,
7.58am, 8.34am, 9.02am and 10.57am. Afternoon trains return at 1.02pm, 3.19pm,
3.52pm, 4.21pm, 5.33pm and 7.55pm.
CHENGDE
0314 / POP 479,703
Chengde might look like an unremarkable provincial town at first glance, but it
has an extraordinary history as the summer playground of the Qing-dynasty
emperors.
History
In 1703, when an expedition passed through the Chengde valley, Emperor
Kangxi was so enamoured with the surroundings that he had a hunting lodge
built, which gradually grew into the summer resort. Rehe - or Jehol (Warm
River; named after a hot spring here) - as Chengde was then known, grew in
importance and the Qing court began to spend more time here, sometimes up
to several months a year, with some 10,000 people accompanying the emper-
or on his seven-day expedition from Beijing.
The emperors also convened here with the border tribes - undoubtedly
more at ease here than in Beijing - who posed the greatest threats to the Qing
frontiers: the Mongols, Tibetans, Uighurs and, eventually, Europeans. The re-
sort reached its peak under Emperor Qianlong (1735-96), who commissioned
many of the outlying temples to overawe visiting leaders.
The Emperor Xianfeng died here in 1861, permanently warping Chengde's
feng shui and tipping the imperial villa towards long-term decline.
Sights
BISHU SHANZHUANG
( admission Apr-Oct ¥120, Nov-Mar ¥90; palace 7am-6pm April-Oct,
8am-5.30pm Nov-Oct)
The imperial summer resort is composed of a main
Historic Site
