承德避暑山庄

Why this place

The Chengde Mountain Resort was the Qing court's summer retreat, a walled park larger than the Summer Palace, half garden and half forest. Its outlying temples — built in Tibetan, Mongolian and Han styles — were a deliberate piece of imperial politics: a landscape that acknowledged the empire's many peoples.

What to see

• The Mountain Resort's lake district and its plain and mountain zones
• Putuo Zongcheng Temple — a smaller version of the Potala Palace
• Puning Temple and its 22-metre wooden Guanyin with a thousand arms and eyes
• Pule Temple and the other outer temples, in Tibetan and Mongolian styles

What to eat

• Northern mountain vegetables and wild mushrooms
• Lamb and buckwheat dishes from the surrounding plateau

How to plan

Two days: the resort one day, the temples the next.

Best time

June–September; Chengde is a genuine escape when Beijing is at its hottest

Practical tips

• The resort is enormous — use the shuttle and allow a full day; the outer temples need a car