[Photo by Jia Yue for Chinadaily.com.cn]

5 The Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples in Chengde

The Mountain Resort can be divided into four independent yet inseparable parts: the Palace area, the lake area, the plain area and the mountain area. The resort's most prominent landscape feature is that the mountains are sitting within the gardens, and the gardens are circled by the mountains. The massive project began in 1703 and ended in 1792, covering a span of 89 years. Although most buildings were damaged to ruins with the demise of the Qing Dynasty, it still remains China’s biggest existent ancient imperial gardens and temple complex. The Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1994.