The city of Chengde is located in northeast Hebei Province. It is 225kilometers from Beijing, and has an area of 39,548 square kilometers, with a population of 3.45 million.

Chengde is a famous tourist City in China. It is located on the transitional zone from the inner Mongolia Plateau to the North Plain, with forested mountains and valleys and numerous fantastic stone formations on the surrounding mountains, of which the most striking are Mountain Luohan (arhat) and Sledge Hammer Peak. In 1985,the city was listed as one of China's Top Ten scenic Spots.

Chengde is one of the ancient cultural cities in China. It embraces the Mountain Resort, the largest and the bestpreserved imperial garden existing today in China. It took almost 90 years to complete the Mountain Resort during the reigns of three emperors of the Qing Dynasty. The resort is a perfect combination of the architectural and gardening arts of north and south China.

Outside the enclosure of the Mountain Resort, there is a semi-circle of 12 imposing temples (only seven in existence today) of various styles, which reflect artistic characteristic of the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan nationalities. They are taken as a treasure house of Buddhist arts. In 1994, the Mountain Resort and its surrounding temples were designated as a world Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.

As one of the first group of best tourist cities listed by the State, chengde has seen a rapid development in tourism with excellent facilities for accommodation, shopping, and recreation, and convenient transportation with the Beijing chengde Railway passing by.

The beautiful landscape, the magnificent imperial garden, and temples of various styles in Chengde attract more and more visitors.