From the Chengde Imperial Summer Villa, or Mountain Resort (“Bishushanzhuang” in Chinese), we took a short drive to the Putuo Zongsheng Temple (or ”Putuo Zongchengzi” in Tibetan, or “Potala Palace” in Chinese), located North of the Mountain Resort.

The following Slideshow contains photos of our short drive from the Mountain Resort to the Putuo Zongcheng Temple :

The Putuo Zongcheng Temple is the biggest & most magnificent building in the Eight Outer Temples, occupying an area of 220000 square Metres. Also named the “Little Potala Palace”, the Temple was built in 1767 by Emperor Qianlong to celebrate his 60th Birthday & the 80th Birthday of his Mother - modelled after the Lhasa Potala Palace.

The Big Red Platform is the principle construction of the Putuo Zongcheng Temple, with Halls & Pavilions designed to narurally strew on hillside according to the hypsography. 

In 1994, the Putuo Zongcheng Temple was listed as a World Heritage Site, together with the Chengde Summer Villa.

 

 

 

 

Dear & I standing infront of the Stele Pavilion :

The texts on the Stele were written by Emperor Qianlong, in 4 languages – Manchu, Chinese (or Han), Mongolian & Tibetan. On the front side of the Stele is the Manchu Language, which was used only to compose Official Documents then. On the back of the Stele is Chinese, & the Tibetan & Mongolian Languages are on the left & right sides of the Stele. 

I’ve put all the rest of the photos taken upon arrival at the Putuo Zongsheng Temple, to the visiting of the Stele Pavilion, in the below Slideshow :

From the Stele Pavilion, we walked to the Five Pagodas Gate, located behind the Stele Pavilion.

The Gate, with 3 arched Doors & Five Pagodas on top, was erected on a Terrace, & built of bricks painted Gray, & the Five Pagodas (representing Buddhas in Five directions - Amitabha, Siddhi, Baosheng Buddha, Aksobhya, & Dari Buddha) were made of glazed bricks in Bright colors.

According to the Buddhist Scriptures, Buddhist Monks & Devotees should pass through this Gate at least twice a day, to show respect for & devotion to Buddha.

We walked past the Five Pagodas Gate, climbing up the Hill & arrived at the Gateway with multicolored Tiles behind the Five Pagodas Gate :

The following Slideshow contains photos taken at the Five Pagodas Gate & the above Gateway of Multicolored Titles :

We continued climbing further up the hill of the Putuo Zongcheng Temple & arrived outside

the West Side Hall (for praying), where the bottom Signboard with Chinese characters

“Xi Zheng Dian” meaning ”West Side Hall” stood :

We entered the following West Side Hall (Tibetan Buddhist Prayers Hall) for praying.

A Chinese lady showed us & introduced to us a little on the Tibetan Buddhist Lamas. We were then told to pick up 2 Incense Sticks with our hands & proceed to the Central Prayers Hall where we kneeled down & prayed, after which we gave some donations for the Temple & Sichuan Earthquake Victims.

No photography was allowed inside the Prayers Hall, so the following photos in the Slideshow were taken outside the West Side Hall – Tibtetan Buddhist Prayers Hall :

After our Prayers, Dear & I were given the following Red Bag for Good Luck & Prosperity, & we were told to only open it when we come back to our home in Singapore.

The Chinese characters on the front side of the Red Bag are “Dai Fu Huan Jia” meaning “Bring Fortune Home”, & the big Chinese character in the middle of the Circle is “Fo” meaning “Buddha”, with Buddhist chanting characters surrounding it.

And at the back of the Red Bag is a Lotus Flower picture, with the Chinese characters “Chengde Bu Da La” referring to the “Little Potala Palace” ( or Putuo Zongcheng Temple) in Chengde.

And I opened this Red Bag once back home in Singapore, & inside there’s a box containing a Gold Pin with Chinese characters “Na Run Hou Fo” (if I read correctly heehee), & “Zheng – Fo Yuen” meaning some “Buddhist chanting – Fate with Buddha”. In addition, there’s a Round-beaded bracelet for praying & chanting :

We continued walking to the Top of the Mountain where there’s the Great Red Terrace, built on top of a huge 17-metre high White Terrace, constructed of granite blocks & bricks. And though it appears to contain 7 storeys from outside, it’s actually only 3 storeys high. The Outer of the Terrace is painted Red, & the Walls of the Middle & Top sections are decorated with colored glazed figures of Buddhas seated in arched niches.

In the Central section of the Red Terrace is a Square Hall known as the “Hall Where Ten Thousand Laws are Reduced to One” (or “Wanfuguiyidian” in Chinese), which is roofed with gilded tiles. Inside the Hall are large numbers of Images of the Amitayus & other Bodhisattvas.

Cos of time constraints, we did not visit the “Wanfuguiyidian” but just took photos of it.

Dear & I standing infront of the Great Red Terrace :

We stopped to sample some locally grown Nuts & preserved Fruits from a Store here, & Dear & I bought the below 2 packets of very Yummy Fragrant Crunchy Roasted Almond Nuts coated with Sesame Seeds for our Dads, who are both Nuts lovers!!

The following Slideshow contains all the photos taken at the Great Red Terrace :

Dear & I standing closer to the Great Red Terrace after we climbed up further the Hill to be nearer it :

After taking a breather from on top of the Mountain of the Putuo Zongcheng Temple, we started to walk downhill.

And actually, I’d taken some very beautiful photos of the overall views of the Temple while walking downhill, including photos taken when we reached the bottom of the hill where I managed to take photos of the overall Temple area from infront (on top of a sloped-up road), including some photos of a local Mobile Fruits Stall which was parked beside the road! But unfortunately, I lost all the photos to a faulty SD card which Dear bought at Yaxiu Market in Beijing! I was so so MAD & at the same time so so SAD (

So the following Slideshow contains only a few photos of us coming downhill :

And for your viewing pleasure as well as mine, & to make myself happier & not think so much about my lost photos, I’ve taken from the Internet & put below this photo of the overerall view of the Putuo Zongcheng Temple :

After visiting the Chengde Putuo Zongcheng Temple, Dear & I went for our lunch with our tourmates Auntie & Uncle, together with our Chinese driver Sifu, & both our Beijing & Chengde tour guides.

Lunch was pretty good, with Meats & Vegetables dishes, as well as the normal Chinese Egg Soup & Fruits desserts. However, this time, Dear & I ordered an extra special Chengde Cuisine – Deer Meat, with Chicken Meat! They came served in half portions each, on a huge hotplate. The Deer meat was from the local Deer like those we saw earlier in the Chengde Summer Villa (or Mountain Resort – Bishushanzhuang).

Dear & I had tasted Deer meat often, but we’d wanted to try the Chengde famous Deer Cuisine so we ordered the 120 Yuans of hotplate of half Deer meat, & half Chicken meat, which were really delicious especially the Deer meat which was very soft & tender! However, I was never more mad when I realised that all my photos taken during this only Chengde Lunch was also lost to the faulty SD card which Dear bought in Yaxiu Market, Beijing!! So so SILLY!!

After lunch, we departed Chengde to travel back to Beijing. The following Slideshow contains photos taken from inside Sifu’s car during our journey from Chengde to Beijing :

The Day was Dear & my first & only day in Chengde as we checked out of our Room at Qianyang Hotel. We had intended to skip breakfast so that we could sleep a little longer, but cos we realised that we would be setting off to our Chengde tour later than prearranged the night before, we decided to check out on the Hotel breakfast!

Well, the Hotel Restaurant was a pretty big one with nice elegant red velvet chairs, lightings & deco. But my goodness the Chinese Buffet breakfast spread was a mess all over the place!! According to our 2 tourmates Auntie & Uncle, the mess was all caused by the local crowds of Chinese tourists when they snatched & grabed the food!! Haha, it was no surprise for me cos I’d personally seen such scenes when I was travelling on the Silk Road, China!!

Anyway, Dear was delighted to find his favourite “You Tiao” at the buffet spread, & he managed to grab the last only piece haha!! As for me, the messy sights of the food just put me off & I prefered not to eat at all!

After breakfast, we left in our Chinese driver Sifu’s van to go on our Chengde tours.

I’ve put all the photos I took from inside our Hotel room to the Hotel Restaurant, to the time when we were leaving Qianyang Hotel for our Chengde tours, in the following Slideshow :

 We’re now on our way to the famous Imperial Summer Mountain Resort – Chengde Summer Villa (or “Bishushanzhuang” in Chinese – literally meaning “Avoiding the Heat Mountain Villa”).

The below Slideshow contains photos of the short drive from Qianyang Hotel to our arrival at the Chengde Mountain Resort :

Dear & I standing outside the Main Entrance (Gate of Beauty & Righteousness or “LiZhengMen” in Chinese) of Imperial Summer Mountain Resort – Imperial Summer Villa (“Bishushanzhuang”) :

In 1703, Chengde was chosen by Emperor Kangxi (of Qing Dynasty) as the location for his Summer Residence. Built between 1703 & 1792, the Mountain Resort took 89 years to complete, covering a total area of 590 hectares (& surrounded by a 10km Long Wall), almost half of Chengde’s urban area – as big as the Forbidden City & Summer Palace (of Beijing) combined.

In 1708, the Mountain Resort became the 2nd Political Centre of the Qing Dynasty.

Above the Gateway is a Tablet with carvings of ”LiZhengMen” in 5 National Languages; from right to left - Mongolian, Uygur, Chinese, Tibetan & Manchu, with the 3 Chinese characters in the Centre (calligraphed by Emperor Qianlong), symbolizing that China is a Multinational Counry :

In 1994, the Mountain Resort was added to the World Heritage List by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation). This has made Chengde one of the Famous Cities in the World! 

Our Entrance Tickets to the Mountain Resort (“Bishushanzhuang”) :

We’re now entering the Mountain Resort via the Gate of Beauty & Righteousness, guarded by Chinese Guards :

The Chinese Guards are wearing traditional Soldier hat & Uniforms with the Chinese character “Ping” printed on the front & back of their Uniforms :

Dear & I inside the Mountain Resort - behind us are a huge group of Chinese actors getting ready for their morning routine performance of the ancient Imperial Family’s arrival at the Summer Villa.

Our Chengde tour guide stopped to show & introduce to us the Map of the Mountain Resort & its history :

The Mountain Resort is a vast complex of Palaces & Administrative & Ceremonial Buildings. Temples of various architectural styles & Imperial Gardens (which makes up the Palace District) blend harmoniously into a Landscape of Lakes (Lake District), Pastureland (Plains District) & Forests (Mountainous District). The Lake District is home to a collection of Fishing Villages & the popular Rehe Springs. The Plains Distrcit is a model of Mongolian Grasslands & the Mountainous District fearures hundreds of yards of dence Green Forests!

Emperors Kangxi, Qianlong & Jiaqing often spent months a year here at the Mountain Resort to escape the unbearable Summer heat of the Capital of Beijing! Thus, the Palace zone in the Southern part of the Resort was designed to resemble the Forbidden City in Beijing. It consists of 2 parts – a Court infront where the Emperor received high Officials, Nobles of various minority Nationalities & Foreign Envoys, & the 2nd part which are the Bed Chambers in the rear, for the Imperial Family’s living quarters.

True to its name, the Mountain Resort is known to be at least 3 degrees celsius Cooler than the Chengde City itself. The Mountain Resort is most famous for the 72 Scenic Spots (many copied from the famous landscaped Gardens of Southern China), which were named the Emperors Kangxi & Qianlong.

Outside the enclosure of the Mountain Resort in a semi-circle is the “Eight Outer Temples” (or “Wabia Miao” in Chinese) of various styles, reflecting artistic characteristic of the Han, Manchu, Mongolian & Tibetan Nationalities. These Temples are taken as Treasure houses of Buddhist Arts.

Built between 1713 & 1780, the Eight Outer Temples was built to consolidate the relationship between the Imperial Family & local Nobles, & to ensure the unification & development of all the Nationalities in the whole of China. As the Temples were built outside the Forbidden City in Beijing, & they were administered by 8 different departments in the Court, thus they were called the Eight Outer Temples.

We arrived at the Hall of Frugality & Placidity (or “Danbo Jingcheng” in Chinese) of the Mountain Resort. Made of Nanmu (a kind of high quality, fragrant hard durable wood), the Hall was the place where the Emperor held grand celebrations & met the Princes, Dukes, Officials & Foreign Diplomatic Envoys. 

As the Nanmu wood was of Imperial quality, parts of them were stolen off the wooden pillars of the Hall, leaving holes here & there on the pillars. However, these holes had since been replaced by woods, as can be seen from the following cracked parts of the pillar :

And there were many money donations from visitors from all over the world who slotted dollar notes into the glass panel of the wooden doors of the Hall – we even saw our own local Singapore dollar – a 100 dollar & 2 dollar notes!!

The following Slideshow contains all the photos taken at the scene of the Hall of Frugality & Placidity :

We next came to the Sizhi Book House (or “Si Zhi Su Wu” in Chinese meaning “Four Knowledge Study”) where the Emperor took his rests or called in Officials & conducted State Affairs :

Below is the Slideshow of photos at the SiZhi Book House :

We then saw some exhibitions & just before we arrived at the Hall of Refreshing Mists & Waves (or in Chinese “Yanbo Zhishuang” Hall) which was the Bedchamber used by where Emperor Jiaqing & Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty, died on their sickbeds, we stopped at the small Souvenirs Store :

And the below beautiful bangles of Tibetan stones & design were bought at the Souvenirs Store  – my very first Chengde Souvenirs :

And I also got the following Golden plated Key Rings of Emperor Kangxi & Emperor Qianlong :

Now, the below Slideshow contains photos from taken from the Exhibitions to the Souvenirs Store, to the Hall of Refreshing Mists & Waves :

We also visited the “Xinuange” (West Chamber of Warmth) where Emperor Xianfeng was forced to sign the Beijing Treaty (in 1860) with Britain, France & Russia, which ceded South Kowloon to Britain, & to admit Aihua Treaty through which more than 1000000 square km of Territory lying in the North of Heilongjiang River & East of Wushulijjiang River was ceded to Russia. This was the Chinese National Humiliation in the History of China.

The following Slideshow contains photos of the Chamber where the Beijing Treaty was signed :

From the Chamber where the Beijing Treaty was signed, we walked to the below Hall of Yunshanshengdi (with its Chinese characters written on the Board above the Hall) :

On the first storey of the Hall of Yunshanshengdi used to be a Stage for performing Beijing Opera, & the Emperor & his Imperial Family would watch the performance from the Rockery Garden infront of the Hall.

And inside this Hall we visited another Souvenirs Shop where I bought the below Tibetan Necklace to match the Bangle which I bought earlier :

I’ve put the photos taken from the Rocky garden Courtyard infront of the above Hall of Yunshanshengdi in the following Slideshow :

We soon left the Hall of Yunshanshengdi to enter the Lake & Plains – Pastureland Districts (6 times larger than the Palace District) of the Mountain Resort.

The following Slideshow contains photos taken at the Lake & Plains District :

Dear & I standing beside the huge Stone inscribed with the Chinese characters “Bishushanzhuang” meaning Imperial Summer Villa, & “Si Jie Weng Hua Yi Chang” meaning World Heritage Site, with the UNESCO Logo.

Below is the Guide Map for the Bus Route round the Mountains of the Mountain Resort,

which we would be exploring later :

The Sketch Map (Lake & Plains – Pastureland Areas) of the Mountain resort :

Hey see who’s just come to welcome us from the Summer villa?!

It’s a Beautiful Deer!!

Dear posing beside the huge graceful Deer!

The following Slideshow contains photos taken from our Buggy Ride :

Our Buggy Ride Ticket :  

We arrived at the Tower of Mists & Rain (or “Yan Yu Lou” in Chinese) on the Qinlian Islet (or Green Lotus Island), a 2-storey Building standing against the River, which is a copy of the Nanhu Lake at Jiaxing City, zhejiang Province.

The faraway mountains & nearby water, & the Lake reflecting the Tower of Mists & Rains are rich in poetic & artistic conceptions of Gardens & Southern China. When it’s raining in the Mountains, there’ll be lots of mists rising up like gauze, & the water & sky merge in one, which makes us feel like flying in the Paradise like a celestial being.

Dear & I beside the Stone inscribed with the Chinese characters “Yan Yu Lou” :

From the Tower of Mists & Rain, we could see the Sledge-Hammer Peak standing on a Hill 5 km

East of the Mountain Resort. The Peak, formed through a long time of geological process,

looks like a inverted Sledgehammer, thus the name. For the local Chinese in Chengde,

this unique Rock formation is also referred to as the “Da Mu Zi” meaning ”Big Thumb”,

cos of its similar shape to our Big Thumb!

Below are some photos of Dear & I posing at the quiet tranquil Lake & the serene rocky Garden

of the Tower of Mists & Rain :

The following Slideshow contains all the photos taken on the Green Lotus Island (Qinlian Islet) of the Towet of Mists & Rain or “Yan Yu Lou” :

We next hopped on the Buggy to our next destination – the Mongolian Yurt Resort of the Summer Villa located in the grand grassland of the “Ten Thousand Tree Garden”. It was here that Emperor Qianlong received the Mongolian Princes, Tibetan Panchen Lama & British Special Envoy.

To the West of this vast grassland was where the Emperor selected horses for hunting. And to the East was where Fruits Trees & Vegetables were grown for the Imperial Kitchen.

Dear & I standing at the Mongolian Yurt Resort entrance :

The Mongolian Yurt Resort Flat Map (or “Mongo Bao Du Jia Chun Ping Mein Du” in Chinese) :

Behind us are the Milky White Mongolian Yurts – Dear & I felt like we were on Mongolian Grassland – so Happy!

Dear & I with a Mongolian Yurt :

The following Slideshow contains photos taken at the Mongolian Yurt Resort : 

Dear & I seated by the Rehe River, located on the East of Pingxiangting – one of the most important sceneries in the Mountain Resort, & the main source of water for the Lakes. Rehe River is the Shortest River in the World, recorded in the British Publication Encyclopedia Britannic.

The water in the Rehe River doesn’t freeze in Winters, & it contains minerals such as Calcium, Magnesium & Iron, & is suitable for making Soft Drinks!! How COOL!!

Me wearing the Jade Beaded Pearl Necklace bought in Happy Valley, Beijing :

Dear & I learning against the Stone inscribed with Chinese characters “Re He” meaning “Hot River” : 

The below Slideshow contains photos taken at the Rehe River : 

We soon left the Rehe River & took the Buggy Ride to the Exit of the Mountain Resort, where we saw the 9-storey 6-sided Pagoda at the Temple of Eternal Blessings (or “Yongyousi” in Chinese – biggest Temple of all the 16 Temples of the Mountain Resort), located North of the Ten Thousand Tree Garden. This Pagoda was built in the style of the Liuli Pagoda at Baoen Temple (Temple of the Paying Debt of Gratitude) in Nanjing City, & the Liuhe Pagoda (Six-Harmonies) in Hangzhou City. It was at this Temple that Emperor Qianlong & Jiaqing came to pray for Longevity for their lives.

Just before the exit of the Mountain Resort, there was a Souvenirs Shop where we shopped for a while before leaving the Mountain Resort :

We soon left the Mountain resort (or Chengde Summer Villa) with cooling, happy relaxed hearts!

Below is a Portrait of Dear & I taken outside the Main Entrance (Gate of Beauty & Righteousness or “LizhengMen” in Chinese) of ”Bishushanzhuang”, that comes with a beautiful Book of Bishushanzhuang, & a VCD that tells the history of Bishushanzhuang, & showcases beautiful sceneries of the Mountain Resort & the Putuo Zongcheng Temple which we would be visiting later.

Book of Bishushanzhuang :

 The following Slideshow contains photos of the Book of Bishushanzhuang :

We travelled for more than 3 hours from Beijing to Chengde, passing through very dark with dim lights Expressways, as well as Mountain & countryside roads with no streets lights. And our Chinese driver Sifu was driving crazily fast but very steadily, & we all felt really safe in Sifu’s hands & slept throughout in the Van like dead meats!!  

And we arrived safely, but very exhausted, at the Qianyang Hotel in Chengde, at 12 midnight!

The City of Chengde, with a population of 3.45 million, is located in Northeast Hebei Province, 225 km from Beijing. It’s located on the transitional zone from the inner Mongolia Plateau to the China North Plain, with forested Mountains & Valleys & numerous fantastic Stone Formations on the surrounding Mountains. In 1985, the City of Chengde was listed as one of China’s Top Ten Scenic Spots!

Chengde Map :

The 4-star Qianyang Hotel, a Garden-style Tourist Hotel, is located in the famous Tourist & Cultural City of Chengde, facing the Imperial Summer Mountain Resort (Chengde Summer Villa).

And here we were – Dear & I spending a night at Qianyang Hotel here in Chengde, Northeast Hebei – China!!

Qianyang Hotel Pamplets :

See the below lady in black with white pants – she was our Chengde Tour Guide, who met us in the Hotel upon our so late arrival! And on the left is our superbly strong & steady Sifu!

Tired looking Dear in the Hotel lobby :

Big & Grand Lobby with huge dropping chandeliers :

A gigantic Painting of Jingshanling Great Wall of China of Chengde hung by the lobby wall.

We soon checked into our hotel room :

Beautiful clean big cosy room :

Time to unpack a little for the night’s stay :

And I decided to unpack & open all my newly purchased Beijing Olympics Souvenirs & all other boxed-up items, so that I could throw away all their packagings & boxes so that Dear & my lugguages wouldn’t be so heavy!!

And Dear asked the Hotel for some old newspapers for me to wrap all the fragile stuffs, such as the below Chinese Dragon Tea Set from Dr Tea in Beijing.

Our 2 babies Smartie (on the left) & Sparkie (on the right) beside my boxed-up Olympics Fuwa Huanhuan who was seated on the Horse (which we named “Mama” meaning “HorseHorse” in Chinese).  

Smartie & Sparkie beside my boxed-up 5 smaller Olympics Fuwas – Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying & Nini.

Huanhuan & Mama joined in for another photo shot!

Look at tired looking poor Didi Sparkie, who had travelled all the way with the rest with Dear & I from Beijing to Tianjin, then back to  Beijing from Tianjin, & then to Chengde from Beijing!!

All the packagings especially that of the Olympics Fuwas were really beautiful & of good quality, & it was really sad to have to throw them away! It would be great if I could bring them all home with us as well (

See below all the packagings that I had to leave behind in our Chengde Hotel room :

Finally time to REST!!! After so much travelling on the roads from Beijing to Tianjin, from Tianjin back to Beijing, & then from Beijing to Chengde, & not forgetting us being stranded on the Expressway, Dear & I were extremely dead exhausted!! In fact, Dear had already long fell asleep while I was still unpacking & packing & throwing the above stuffs!!

What an eventful crazy day & night that I would never forget for a long long time!!

So excited & happy cos we were finally travelling to Beijing, Tianjin, Chengde, Hong Kong & Macau in China!!

We arrived at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1 going to have breakfast at the 24hr Food Callery.

We decided to have Subway, fresh & healthiest choice of all!!

The new promo which we would later have.

The different types of soft cookies – Yummy Yummy!!

My dear dear with our breakfast!

Guess who this is? It’s of course ME heheh…..Hello!! NICE to meet all of you out there reading this right now )

My Italian B.M.T Sandwich.

Dear’s Subway Melt Sandwich.

Dear loves these cookies the most! It was BOARDING time after breakfast……..

Our Boarding Passes.

We’re now onboard Cathy Pacific Flight No CX 312

We brought our babies with us.

Dear with Smartie & Sparkie.

Smartie & Sparkie buckled up & seated in-between Pa Pa & Ma Ma.

The Cathy crews welcomed us aboard….& soon we’re in the air………

The in-flight entertainment soon began…. Dear’s favourite flying passtime……

Snack time!

And it’s meal time now…….

My Beef Pasta with French Beans & Carrots set – Very yummy!!

Dear’s Fish with Rice with Chilli, Steamed French Beans & Carrots set – pretty good too!

Desserts – Warm Bun, Chocolate, Fruits & our favourite Haagen-Dazs ice cream….the best of all – so so cool!!!

Yummy Yummy!!!

Smartie & Sparkie looking at the outside beautiful blue sky & candy floss clouds………..

Smartie & Sparkie close with Pa Pa….

It was Pa Pa’s, Smartie’s & Sparkie’s very first time flying with Cathy Pacific & they liked it!

Very soon, we would be arriving at Hong Kong……….

In-flight TV details of arrival in Hong Kong….. stay tuned for my Hong Kong arrival – see ya later!!