The Imperial Mountain Resort is the resort of Qing emperors. Situated in the city of Chengde in northeastern Hebei Province, about 200 kilometers from Beijing, the resort is easily accessible by either train or long-distance bus.

The magnificent resort and the 12 Buddhist temples at its periphery were built during the Qing Dynasty, the last feudal Chinese dynasty. It served as the second political center of the Qing imperial court and the emperors of the early Qing Dynasty often spent their summers there, conducting state affairs and engaging in important political activities.

The Resort and its temples and palaces have made Chengde a famous historical and cultural city, and one of China's leading scenic spots. The imperial Resort was listed in the directory of the world's cultural heritages in 1994.

The construction of the Mountain Resort took place over a period of 90 years-starting from the 42nd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (1703), rebuilt and expanded during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, and completed in the 57th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1792).

It is China's largest existing imperial garden, covering an area of 5.64 million square meters, double that of the Summer Palace, and eight times that of Beihai Park in Beijing. The 10-km-long wall around it winds its way through plains and high mountains like the Great Wall.

There are more than 90 towers and pavilions scattered around the Mountain Resort as well as small bridges, inscriptions on precipices, rockeries of various sizes, many gates, horizontal inscribed boards, palaces, terraces and other buildings.

The Mountain Resort can be divided into two parts: the palace area and garden area. In the southern part of the Mountain Resort are the palace buildings where the Qing emperors lived and conducted state affairs. The main buildings include Zhenggong (Front Palace), Songhezhai (Pine-Crane Hall), Donggong (Eastern Palace) and Wanhesongfeng (Whispering Pine Valley) and their annexes. The buildings on the axis of the Main Palace include the Danbo Jingcheng Hall (Hall of Frugality and Placidity), Sizhi Shuwu (Four Knowledge Study), Yanbo Zhishuang Hall (Hall of Refreshing mists and Waves), and Yunshan Shengdi Tower (Viewing-Misty-Mountain Tower). Other buildings are arranged along the axis symmetrically, displaying the dignity of imperial power. The magnificent simple and elegant Hall of Frugality and Placidity, the main hall of the Mountain Resort, is also known as Nanmu Hall because it was built of the fine-grained fragrant hardwood called nanmu. The Hall of Refreshing mists and Waves, the emperors' bedchamber, is where emperors Jiaqing and Xianfeng died on their sickbeds. West of the Hall is a courtyard where Yi Gui Fei, the concubine of Emperor Xianfeng, later called Empress Dowager Cixi, lived. After Emperor Xianfeng died in 1861, she came to power and controlled China for more than 40 years during the late Qing Dynasty.

The garden area includes the lake, plains and mountain areas where most of the 72 scenic wonders named by emperors Kangxi and Qianlong are scattered. The scenic spots, situated in the foothills, and beside streams or pines, are arranged naturally and harmoniously with not a trace of artificiality. Various skills have been applied to achieve this wonderful artistic effect, a change of view with each footstep. These skills include dividing, separating, framing and taking advantages of the natural surroundings to serve as a framework, as well as the use of images, hiding or exposing scenes, and building scenes of uneven density. Wanshu Garden (Garden of Ten Thousand Trees) is full of fragrant trees and natural beauty, with open grassland next to it. The emperors of the Qing Dynasty often hosted banquets in honor of ethnic minority nobles in the garden, and held wrestling matches and other activities, showing the strength and beauty of the warriors against the simple natural landscape.

Visitors may appreciate the beautiful southern scenery of the lake area. Yanyu House (House of Mists and Rains) on the Qinglian Islet (Green Lotus Islet), a two-story building standing against the river, is a copy of a tower on Nanhu Lake at Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province. The faraway mountains and nearby water, and the lake reflecting the house are rich in the poetic and artistic conceptions of gardens of southern China.