Chengde is a place of ancient architecture and pleasant grounds. Lying to the north of the Great Wall of China, it is ideal as a weekend trip from chengde in the hot summer months.

The sights in Chengde are basically divided into 3 parts, the central Imperial Villa, the eight extant outer temples (Waiba miao) and the more distant sights.

The Imperial Summer Villa itself is a huge complex, the biggest imperial garden area in China, but it is now a little run down. Beyond the palace sections, the park will probably not be of major interest to any but the most Imperially obsessed.

For both the Chengde city with the remaining outer temples it may well be worth hiring a bike for the day or two that you need to look around. Bikes (Zixing che) can be hired from some hotels and from shops on Xinhua beilu, which are convenient. The eight temples are located in a semi-circle around the villa, three to the north, two to the northeast and three to the east. If you are pressed for time, the best temples include the Putuo Zongsheng Temple & the Xumifushou Temple in the north, the Temple of Universal Peace in the northeast and the Temples of Distant Security and Universal Happiness in the east.

The more distant sights are mainly hills that are known in local legend. Many of these can be climbed for some impressive views. Best of these include Monk's Hat Peak (Sengguan feng), Twin Pagoda Hill (Shuangta shan), Golden Mountain Ridge (Jinshan ling), that is capped by the Great Wall.