Travelogue of Chengde, Hebei

In the summer of 2021, I had a trip to Chengde. At that time, I found the Outer Eight Temples quite nice but didn't get to see them all, mainly because the tickets for the attractions were so expensive. So this year, we took advantage of the off-season ticket prices and went on a spontaneous trip. On Friday, we left from Beijing Chaoyang Station at six in the morning and arrived at Chengde South by train in just over an hour. After getting off, we went straight to Xinqianlong for a meal. The sliced meat dish was good; the food in Chengde is a bit salty and the portions are large! It is said that Qianlong Dumplings, Xinqianlong, Xinqianlong's Dafu Restaurant, and Taizi Banquet are somewhat related. The first night we stayed at Yunshu, where I was attracted by the red canopy around the bed, but the rest was just average. Fortunately, right across the street was Lao Sanyang Soup, which we had for breakfast the next day, and I tried the set meal for the first time. In the morning, we visited the Puning Temple and the Thousand-Handed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin, which is the only temple with lamas. We also visited the Chengde Museum. For lunch, we had a simple meal of Songzhi Baozi and flatbread, which was just okay. In the afternoon, we switched to another hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn, which was quite nice, and the breakfast was acceptable. We rested until the evening before going out for a Citywalk, strolling through Nanyingzi Street, West Street, and looking at the night view near the Mountain Resort. The festive lights from the New Year had not been taken down yet. Xianghexing's scissor-cut noodles, the city's famous ice cream, the almond milk cheese from 'Apricot Nice to Meet You', and the almond milk cake from 'Su Xing' were all quite tasty. The third morning, we visited the Putuozongcheng Temple, found a guide to listen to the history, and the weather was very good for taking photos. In the afternoon, we visited the Pule Temple and the Xumi Fushou Temple, as well as the Panchen Lama's Palace, which was built in just over a year, which seemed a bit quick to me. At six in the evening, we took the train back to Beijing, completing a two-and-a-half-day trip. Overall, the weather in Chengde was great. The driver who took us around spoke of his hometown with pride and happiness. A lady mentioned that the Big Belly Maitreya Buddha on our Luohan Mountain blesses our city of Chengde. At that moment, I felt that this is indeed a livable small city. Although it's not big, people seem very content. The only downside is that the tickets for the attractions are indeed a bit expensive.