Chengde city is located in the northeast of Hebei Province, in thetransitional zone between North China and Northeast China. The city hasjurisdiction over eight counties and three districts, covering an area of nearly40000 square kilometers with a total population of more than 3.4 million.Chengde Municipal People's government is located on the Bank of Wulie River inShuangqiao District, 435 kilometers away from Shijiazhuang, the provincialcapital, and 256 kilometers away from Beijing.
Chengde city has a long history, as early as the Neolithic age, there wereprimitive people living. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the centralgovernments of all dynasties have set up county, prefecture, county and otheradministrative organs in Chengde. Rehe hall was set up in the first year ofYongzheng reign, Chengde mansion in the 43rd year of Qianlong reign, and ReheDutong mansion in the 15th year of Jiaqing reign. After the revolution of 1911,the government system was abolished and Rehe special district was set up. In1928, it was established as the capital of Rehe province. In 1933, Chengde wasoccupied by Japanese invaders, and the puppet Manchukuo Special AdministrativeRegion was established. It was liberated in 1945, and was occupied by theKuomintang in 1946. In 1948, Chengde city was liberated again, under thejurisdiction of Rehe Province, and became the capital of Rehe province. InNovember 1956, yingshouyingzi and Shouwangfen in Xinglong County were under thejurisdiction of Chengde city. In 1958, Chengde County was abolished and mergedinto Chengde city.
On March 15, 1960, Chengde city was merged. After the merger, Chengde citywas under the jurisdiction of urban area, Xiabancheng District, Longhua County,Weichang County, Fengning County, Luanping county, Xinglong County, QinglongCounty and Pingquan County. In May 1961, Chengde was divided into Prefecture andcity. After that, Chengde was divided into Cuiqiao District, Hongqiao District,shuangtashan District, hongshiluan Working Committee and Shuangfengsi WorkingCommittee. In February 1965, yingshouyingzi, Shouwangfen and mazuan were reassigned to Chengde City, and yingshouyingzi mining area was restored. InJanuary 1984, Chengde city was changed into a city under provincialjurisdiction, with jurisdiction over Shuangqiao District, Shuangluan District,yingshouyingzi mining area and Chengde County. Qinglong County is under thejurisdiction of Qinhuangdao city. On July 1, 1993, the prefecture and city weremerged to implement the management system of city Governing County, whichgoverns eight counties and three districts.
Chengde, formerly known as Rehe, has a long history and rich multi-ethnichistory and culture. According to textual research, there are traces of humanactivities here as early as the period of Longshan Culture in the CentralPlains. During the Warring States period, the state of Yan set up a localgovernment at the county level in this area. After Qin Dynasty, localgovernments were also set up.
From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the yuan and Ming Dynasties, Xiongnu,Xianbei, Qidan, Nuzhen, Mongolian and other ethnic minorities once nomaded here.Until the early Qing Dynasty, Chengde city is still only a small village withdozens of families, called Rehe Shangying. In 1703, the Qing government built asummer resort here. In 1723, the Rehe hall was set up. In 1733, it was renamedChengde Prefecture after taking the meaning of "inheriting the kindness ofancestors". This is the origin of the name Chengde. Since then, Chengde hasgradually developed into a city with "more lights than ever before". However,from Xianfeng's succession to the throne (1851) to the reign of the Kuomintang,Chengde gradually declined and became desolate. After the revolution of 1911,the government system was abolished and Rehe special area was established. Reheprovince was established in 1929, and Chengde was the capital of Rehe province.After the founding of the people's Republic of China, Chengde city changed fromdecline to rebirth. In July 1993, the former Chengde City and Chengde Districtmerged.
Chengde is one of the 24 famous historical and cultural cities, one of thetop ten scenic spots in China, one of the 44 key scenic spots in China, and oneof the top 40 tourist attractions in China. At the end of 1994, Chengde MountainResort and its surrounding temples were listed as world cultural heritage byUNESCO. In June 1998, Chengde Mountain resort was identified as one of the firstten demonstration sites of civilized scenic spots in China. At the end of 1998,Chengde city was rated as China's tourism city. Chengde is rich in tourismresources. In the past three years, Chengde Municipal government has investedmore than 30 million yuan to renovate and restore the famous summer resort andWaiba temple. Now 40 of the famous "72 scenes of KangQian" in the summer resorthave been renovated, and seven of the eight outer temples are open to tourists.In addition, Kui Xing Lou, Twin Towers mountain, Town God's Temple and sandwichwall ditch have been newly developed in the urban area.
Chengde city is rich in tourism resources. In Luanping, there isJinshanling Great Wall, the essence of the great wall; in Fengning, Jingbeigrassland is famous for its advantageous geographical location and beautifulnatural scenery; in Baiyun ancient cave, there are strange, dangerous, wild,secluded, monks, nuns and Taoism; Mulan paddock, the famous royal hunting gardenof Qing Dynasty in Weichang County, is a natural resort for summer tourism andwinter skiing and hunting; Wuling Mountain in Xinglong is rich in species ofanimals and plants, which is listed as a nature reserve; the underwater GreatWall in Kuancheng is a wonder of the Great Wall; The scenery at the source ofLiaohe River in Pingquan is charming. The natural secondary forests arewell-organized. The grassland on the top of the mountain presents a subalpinegrassland landscape. Chengde is a resort with beautiful mountains andrivers.