Imperial playground

My favorite is the largest one: Putuo Zongcheng Temple, a replica of the Potala Palace in Tibet autonomous region.

Putuo Zongcheng Temple, one of the Outlying Temples of Chengde's Mountain Resort, is magnificent and spectacular with clinquant gold plates and copper tiles. Photos Provided to China Daily

It was built to celebrate Emperor Qianlong's 60th birthday and his mother's 80th. The temple is magnificent and spectacular with clinquant gold plates and copper tiles.

Another, the Temple of Universal Peace, houses one of the biggest gold painted wooden Buddhas in the world, the Guanshiyin Bodhisattva with one thousand arms and one thousand eyes. Here's looking at you, kid!

There are many places to see slightly further afield. The one I enjoyed most was a 20-minute ride from the center of town.

Kangxi Ceremony

Kangxi Ceremony

It's the Kangxi Ceremony, held every evening from mid-May through mid-October, featuring the clever use of natural surroundings, high-tech lighting and lasers. It involves a cast and staff of a thousand people, and 200 performing horses.

The ceremony traces the life and many achievements of one of the giants of Chinese imperial history. While this spectacular show is performed in Chinese, subtitles in English, Japanese and Korean help explain this magnificent story.

Another place to visit is the Fengning Grassland, a great summer holiday resort for escaping the hot summer sun.

The average summer temperature is a pleasant 17.4 C. Recently, many vacation villages and vacation centers have sprung up so visitors can enjoy activities like horse riding, camel riding and archery.

The grassland is on a vast plateau covered with green grasses and wild flowers.

For centuries, the area has been called the warehouse of medicine because there are more than 300 plant varieties. Adding to the color, the local people can be seen tending their animals in the fields.

Visitors should go to Chengde soon because change is in the air. In 2015, the high-speed train will transform everything forever. The train journey from Beijing will be only 45 minutes. The year after a new airport will further speed development.

It is certain that the city will be vastly different so it's worth seeing it now in its present state of development.

While Chengde lacks good international standard hotels, with the changes about to take place, this situation is sure to be addressed. In the meanwhile there are plenty of reasonable local places to stay in and around the city.

And besides the sightseeing in the Mountain Resort, Chengde city boasts rich tourist products, including study tours, skiing, hot springs and sports activities.