Chengde, formerly known as Jehol and Rehe, is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, situated about 225 kilometres (140 mi) northeast of Beijing.

It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by the Qing emperors as summer residence.

The city of Jehol—an early romanization of Rehe via the French transcription of the northern suffix ér as eul[4]—reached its height under the Qianlong Emperor 1735-1796 (died 1799).

The great Putuo Zongcheng Temple, loosely based on the Potala in Lhasa, was completed after just four years of work in 1771.

Chengde is located in the northeastern portion of Hebei, with latitude 40° 12'－42° 37' N, and longitude 115° 54'－119° 15' E, and contains the northernmost point in the province.

Spring warming is rapid, but dust storms can blow in from the Mongolian steppe; autumn cooling is similarly quick.

With road and railroad links to Beijing, Chengde has developed into a distribution hub, and its economy is growing rapidly.

The newly built Jingcheng Expressway connects Chengde directly to central Beijing, and more freeways are planned for the city.

[16] It is located 19.5 kilometres (12.1 mi) northeast of the city center in Tougou Town, Chengde County.

In summers, emperors of the Qing dynasty came to the mountain resort to relax themselves and escape from the high temperature in Beijing.

The elaborate Mountain Resort features large parks with lakes, pagodas, and palaces ringed by a wall.

The nearby Puning Temple, built in 1755, houses the world's tallest wooden statue of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.