In ancient times, Chengde was known as Rehe (Warm River) and to Western visitors as Jehol. It lies in the northeast of Hebei Province, bordering Beijing and Tianjin on its south, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia Province in the north.

Chengde has a long history. During the Warring States Period, Yan State established the local authorities as the same level as the shire government in this area. 

Since the Qin Dynasty was established, because of the important geographical situation, every dynasty did establish its own local government in this area. In 1703 AD, Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty constructed the Imperial Summer Resort, and Chengde gradually became a place of important political activity of the Qing Dynasty, enjoyed the fame as the secondary capital. Rehe Office was established by the Qing Government until the year of 1723. In 1733, Chengde State was established, so the name of 'Chengde' appeared, and the city enjoyed the fame as the secondary capital in the Qing Dynasty. Afterwards Chengde gradually developed into a flourishing city, and population living there was becoming larger and larger. 

But it is a pity that such a prosperous situation didn't last for a long time. Chengde started to decline from the time in the reign of Emperor Xianfeng to the ruling period of Kuomintang. After the Revolution of 1911, the Rehe Prefecture was established. In 1929 Rehe Province was established, and Chengde became its capital city. After liberation, Chengde started to enter a new page of its life in history. It was finally confirmed as Chengde City in 1955. In July 1993 the original Chengde City was combined with Chengde Prefecture. 

At present, Chengde City includes eight counties and three districts with a total population of 3.49 million.