Chengde,the Emperor's Summer Getaway        2008-6-22 10:00:49

Add:  Shanzhuang Lu
Open Time:  8am to 5pm
Charge:  90, peak-season
         72, off-season

Putuozongcheng Zhi Miao
Add:  Shizigou Lu
Open Time:  8am to 5pm
Charge:  50, peak-season
         40, off-season

Temple of Universal Tranquility
Add:  Puning Lu, Bei Xinglong Jie
Open Time:  8am to 5pm
Charge:  50, peak-season
         40, off-season
 
Hotels 
Jintai Hotel
Add:  A1, Cuiqiao Lu, Shuangqiao District 
Charge:  480 - double room, peak-season
         384 - double room, off-season

Lolo Hotel 
Add:  Nan 6, Cuiqiao Lu 
Charge:  288 - double room, peak-season
         480 - double room, off-season

Shangketang Hotel           
Add:  west side of Temple of Universal Tranquility
Charge:  418-double room, peak-season
         318-double room, off-season

  Food and Restaurants
Chengde is full of small street-side stalls and hole-in-the-wall restaurants. A good pick is roujia mo , which is a bread pocket stuffed with pork and cilantro. Not to be missed are the great Chengde hand-tossed noodles, straight from a big black pot sizzling with peppers, eggs and greens. Corn on the cob, a local specialty, is tasty and sold everywhere. Chengde's cuisine is typical northeast fare - hearty and warming. Some of the local specials include rice rolls with a sweet bean stuffing and boyu mian  a snow-white noodle that's served in a chicken stock. In some restaurants you can also find local wild game like deer or pheasant, fresh and lightly seasoned.

The 110-ton and 27m-tall wood statue of Guanyin with 42 arms

RESTAURANTS

Imperial Palace Restaurant    
Add:  21 Wulie Lu

Qiwang Lou Restaurant
Add:  Bifengmen Lu

Rose Bar
Add:  Btdg 4, Shaanxi Ying
Open Time:  2pm to midnight

Shunkaida Seafood Restaurant 
Add: 12 Wumiao Lu, opposite Donglouli 
Open Time:  10am to 10pm
 
Souvenirs
In the center of town there are shaded avenues, winding alleys and markets. The markets are filled with street vendors and food stands, and locals bargaining for their daily veggies or household goods. People sell everything from Tibetan tiger claws, (though highly illegal), to pots and pans. These streets are good for wandering - just head any old way and eventually you'll come out at the river or on Nanyingzi Da Jie.

Some items unique to Chengde include Fengning cloth paintings or little knick-knacks made from nutshells. You can do most of the souvenir shopping at Kangqian Tourist Shopping City at B1B Rongji Garden, Puning Lu, which opens from 7am to 7pm.

Memorable Experiences
Sitting outside for clinner at a short table with short stools eating kabobs of various local meats, from tasty rabbit to spicy lamb, and drinking beers with some locals.

Watching the nightly procession of dancers and music-makers walk from the Statue of Kangxi southeast into town, beating gongs and cymbals all the way.

Hiking up to the Hammer Mountain-there was a nice breeze that day and the views were superb.

Quotes
"Ill had known this was a hunting-ground I would've brought my bow and found my own dinner."
"Our family takes a trip to a different famous temple in China every summer, but this time we got to see eight, all in four days!"